Cut From the Same Cloth
by Myareska
Summary: He hadn't gone to combat school; he hadn't even taken an entrance exam. But Jaune Arc figured if he could at least make it past Beacon Academy's initiation, then he might just have what it takes to become a huntsman. And in a sense... he's right. The little training he received from his sister may just be enough.
1. The First Step

**Hey everyone! This is my new story, Cut From the Same Cloth.**

 **For those of you who don't follow my other stories, this is going to be a little bit of a departure from my typical preferences, brought on by a wonderful idea my Beta and I discussed. Eventually, I decided to actually follow through, and... well... here we are!**

 **I won't say any more, aside from "Enjoy!"**

* * *

 _Beta: Knight of Cerberus_

" _This'll be fun._ "

* * *

The airship ride to Beacon Academy was quite possibly the worst experience of Jaune Arc's entire life. The smiling faces and the chattering of excited soon-to-be students did little to suppress the uncomfortable feeling in his stomach. Nor did the way everyone had pressed him to the window at the end of Glynda Goodwitch's speech, eager to see Beacon as they approached.

He honestly felt like he might throw up.

If he did end up vomiting, he'd claim it was motion sickness – no one had to know what was really going on, and how often would he be riding in an airship anyways?

 _What the hell am I doing_?

Jaune took a deep breath, hoping to quell his nerves. He turned to look back out the window, focusing on a point along the horizon, where the sea met the sky. Towards the front of the airship, he could see them approaching the cliff atop which Beacon rested.

He rested a palm against the metal plate he wore. _Chestplate, check_. The same hand fell to the blade at his hip. _Crocea Mors, check_. Then his pocket, confirming he still had his scroll. After a few seconds, the boy had finished listing off the belongings he'd had on him.

It had only been the tenth time he'd done such a thing, and it still did nothing to alleviate his fears.

Someone was going to notice.

Jaune wrapped his hand around the hilt of his sword, pushing his shoulders back and sticking his chest out. It did nothing to make himself feel any better, but he hoped anyone looking his way would see exactly what he wanted them to see: someone confident in his abilities. Someone who belonged at Beacon Academy.

Someone Jaune Arc _wasn't_.

He'd never gone to a combat school, like many on the ship with him likely had. Nor had he attempted to take Beacon's entrance exams, knowing the difficulty of those was far higher than any combat school's finals.

So Jaune had taken the easy way out and lied.

He'd lied, like he had so many times before: to his parents and his sisters, to his teachers in grade school... He'd always felt guilty every time he'd done it, and while his family had never stayed mad at him for long, he'd quickly learned to never lie to them again.

But his teachers, on the other hand, and everyone else he'd lied to – e _xcept for his family_ – had never found out.

But _this_? This wasn't telling the principal it was the other blond kid in the class who'd thrown sand in Olive's eyes. This wasn't convincing the physics teacher the family dog had _actually_ eaten his homework – even though the Arc family had no dog, three of his sisters being allergic.

What he was doing was illegal.

Someone bumped into him, and his posture shattered. He nearly fell over just from the light contact.

"Oh, sorry." A girl called over her shoulder

"It's alright..." Jaune smiled back, but the girl was back to talking with two other guys – friends of hers, probably – as they walked down the cabin towards the airship's exit.

Jaune turned back to the window, closing his eyes as he felt the airship lurch. He fingered the pommel of Crocea Mors, finding some reassurance in its barely familiar shape.

There was only one redeeming factor here: It didn't matter if he'd used fake transcripts to get into Beacon or not.

It wouldn't matter after Initiation.

After all, students who passed Initiation made it into Beacon. Students who didn't pass initiation... Jaune had never heard of.

Everyone passed. If anything, Jaune would be the first person who hadn't – and then they'd look deeper into his background, and he'd be outed as the fraud he was.

That meant he _had_ to pass. No matter what.

It wasn't as if Jaune was completely inept. His sister had taught him to fight as best she could, though even she'd told him how it wasn't enough for him to make it into Beacon.

He'd told her it was fine, and that one day he'd catch up to her, no matter how long it took.

Jaune smiled, shrugging at his reflection in the airship's window as the transport gave one last shudder, docking safely.

He just had to do the best he could.

The boy turned, walking towards the rear of the large mass of bodies writhing to make their way off the ship and onto the landing platform. He was eager to see Beacon in all its glory, but years of being forced to sit back and wait while his sisters argued over who got the bathroom next had instilled no small amount of patience in Jaune's core virtues.

Of course, the possibility of there being someone waiting on the platform to take him straight to the Headmaster's office was also holding him back.

Jaune took his first step on the paved walkway, and he let out a breath.

He was at Beacon. _The_ Beacon.

The boy strode forward in a way he hoped was confident, even though his legs felt like they would fall out from under him at any moment. Only a few students had stuck near the landing platform, most of them eager to explore their new home.

"Hey!"

Jaune winced. _So soon_?

The boy turned reluctantly, ready to put his wrists together to be cuffed and dragged away by whoever was sent to arrest him... Only, whoever it was who yelled, it wasn't directed at him.

The boy relaxed, running a sleeve across his brow. It came away slightly damp.

He'd been sweating.

Jaune sighed. He turned and took a step forward.

 _It's nothing to worry about Jaune, just act natur_ -

With his next step, it felt like Jaune's entire world exploded.

The boy dropped to one knee, the leg failing him as he drew Crocea Mors. He held it in the direction of the blast, ready to defend himself at a moment's notice.

Jaune breathed rapidly, watching, waiting. Was _this_ Initiation?

Out of the cloud of smoke, a glass vial rolled. As it continued moving towards Jaune, the boy stood up on unstable legs, pointing his sword at the container.

The vial stopped at the tip of Crocea Mors with a soft clink, a vaguely familiar symbol facing him.

Jaune looked back up at the clearing smoke, then leaned down to pick up the vial, studying the crest printed on the glass. He frowned in concentration for a moment as he gave the vial a light shake, the red substance shaking within. Then he remembered why the symbol was familiar.

"Ah. _Dust_." He noted to himself. It should have been obvious right away.

"Unbelievable!" Jaune looked to the where the explosion had occurred, seeing a girl dressed in white – and covered in a fair amount of soot – crying out to the sky above, before she started yelling at the shorter girl in front of her. "This is exactly what I was talking about!"

Jaune cringed in solidarity, seeing the shorter girl's face as she was berated by the one in white. "I'm really, _really_ sorry."

Before the girl in white could get into it any more, Jaune sheathed Crocea Mors and rushed forwards.

"You com-"

"Excuse me, but is this yours?" Jaune called as he got closer, cutting off whatever the enraged girl had been about to say next, holding the vial of Dust out before him.

Both girls turned to face him, the one in white glaring at him at first, before her eyes softened, and she smiled lightly. "That's mine, yes. Thank you."

 _Wow_ , _she's... beautiful_.

"No problem." He smiled in return, not taking his eyes off her. After a moment, remembering what had been happening, Jaune looked to the shorter girl dressed in red. "Are you two okay?"

"I'm _fine_." The Dust owner replied. "No thanks to her."

"Hey, I said I was sor-"

Jaune put a hand on each girl's shoulder as his legs shook lightly. He'd split up arguments between his sisters before, but these two girls were complete strangers - and the one in white was _gorgeous_. "It looks like you're both fine."

What was he supposed to do?

"I didn't quite see what happened…," he started out, continuing when it looked like the one in the white dress was about to say something, "but both of you are okay. It's our first day at Beacon, we shouldn't be arguing with each other."

Both girls started "But she-"

" _Nope,_ I don't want to hear it." Jaune ignored the stare from his right and the squeak from his left. "Our first day at Beacon, I'll remind you. Let's look past this and just try and be friends, okay?"

Jaune squeezed his lips shut tight. That last part about being friends wasn't really supposed to have been said – especially if things were already this fragile. He removed his hands from the shoulders of the two girls, and let them dangle at his sides.

The girl in white closed her eyes and sighed – Jaune just now noticing the scar over her left eye. She opened them wide again, looking to the girl opposite her. "Just make sure nothing like this ever happens again."

"It won't. That's a promise." Was the peppy response. The short girl held her hand out. "I'm Ruby."

The owner of the Dust vial hesitated before reluctantly holding out her own hand. "Weiss."

The two shook hands, though the way Ruby winced – Weiss wincing back a moment later – Jaune guessed it was anything but a friendly handshake.

Clearing his throat, the two girls ceased their battle. "The name's Jaune Arc. It's short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, ladies love it."

"Nice to meet you." Weiss sounded a little sincere when she replied, but Jaune couldn't be sure.

After a moment, Ruby responded. "...Do they?"

"Not sure." Jaune admitted.

The three stood there for a few moments, nothing being said between them. Ruby looked to Jaune expectantly, the boy turning to Weiss. When his eyes met Weiss', she glanced towards Ruby, then back to Jaune.

 _Well this is awkward_.

"So, what _did_ happen?" Jaune asked, his curiosity getting the better of him in the silence.

And just like that, the silence was gone.

"This absolute _dolt_ bumped into my luggage! Someone could have been seriously hurt!"

"I said I was sorry!"

Jaune shoved his face into the palms of his hands, already wishing he'd never said anything.

* * *

After Jaune had noticed the girls weren't going to stop arguing until he got involved, he'd taken just the slightest opening to mention they had somewhere to be, and the two ceased their argument. Weiss had stormed off before Jaune could get a word in edgewise, leaving him with Ruby. As soon as Weiss was out of sight, Ruby began walking, Jaune following beside her.

"She's rude." The girl stated with certainty.

Jaune almost nodded his agreement, but he wasn't about to take sides. "She has a point though. You could've been more careful."

"Gee, thanks..."

The blond looked over at the girl, her arms crossed defiantly. He probably would have been better off not saying anything, yet again. "I'm not saying she's right though."

"Yeah, I get it. You don't want either of us to think you're on the other's side, because you don't want either of us mad at you."

Jaune winced at the accuracy of the girl's deduction. The precision of her statement let Jaune make an assumption of his own "...You have siblings too, then?"

"I have a sister." Ruby noted with a frown. "She left me back there at the docks."

"Twin sister?" Jaune prodded.

"Older sister."

Jaune scrunched his face in confusion. " _Older_ sister?"

"Oh, right." Ruby looked away. "I'm only fifteen. My sister is seventeen."

"You're fifteen and you're going to Beacon?"

"Yeah..."

"That's pretty incredible."

"Thanks." The girl's appreciation sounded hollow, and Jaune was unsure how to respond.

The duo passed a fountain as they walked, not speaking a word to each other for a good two minutes or so. When it honestly seemed like Ruby wasn't going to say anything, Jaune made the decision to break the silence.

"Are you excited to be at Beacon?" the boy asked cautiously.

"Of course I am!" The girl seemed to perk up instantly, as if the one who had just been sulking had been replaced by someone who'd just downed three cups of sugar-saturated coffee. "I can't wait for classes to start, and I'm sure initiation is going to be awesome! Do you know anything about it?"

"Initiation?" Jaune pondered aloud, Ruby nodding vigorously. "Not much, just that it's something that happens. You?"

"Same here, really. I know we'll probably end up fighting Grimm though. That much should be obvious to anyone."

"Right." Jaune nodded along, though it hadn't been obvious to him.

They were going to have to fight _Grimm_?

Jaune started to finger the pommel of Crocea Mors nervously.

Despite the training he'd received, he still hadn't fought any Grimm – not even one of the wolf-looking ones. If he wanted to be a huntsman, he knew he was going to have to fight some eventually.

But… so soon?

"Have you fought Grimm before?" Jaune asked.

" _Pfft_ , of course I have." Ruby smiled up at him. "I might be young, but I wouldn't be at Beacon if I haven't."

"Ha, right?" Jaune tried to hide his nervousness behind his words. From Ruby's lack of reaction, it seemed to work.

"I've killed so many I've lost count."

Jaune gulped, stopping in his tracks. "You have?"

"What about you?" Ruby asked innocently enough, smiling up at Jaune.

"I... uh..." Jaune found it incredibly hard to speak – his lips felt dry, and his mind blanked. "Yes?"

"Yes?" Ruby raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know." Jaune blurted out.

 _Shit_.

Ruby nodded sagely as she reached up to pat Jaune on the shoulder. "See, it's hard to remember the exact number, isn't it?"

Jaune nodded dumbly as he took a deep breath. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

 _That was close_.

Ruby looked down to where he was still fiddling with Crocea Mors, the boy resting his hand against its hilt the moment he noticed. "Still, if your sword there is all you use, I suppose it's quite impressive."

Jaune smiled as he drew the blade, Ruby cooing as she admired the sheen. "I actually haven't killed any Grimm with it yet. I haven't used it at all really..." Jaune said honestly, before he realized how that sounded. "It's a family heirloom – my dad gave it to me when he heard I made it into Beacon. He was sort of surprised when he found out I made the cut."

That was the truth – though his dad entrusted Jaune's great-great-grandfather's blade to him thinking he made it into Beacon legitimately. Goodness knows what the man would do if he figured out what exactly Jaune had done instead.

"So... what does it do?"

Jaune blinked. "What does it do?"

"Well, it's not just a sword, is it?" Ruby quizzed. "You see, Crescent Rose here..."

Ruby reached around her back, pulling a red, rectangular shaped object from behind her. The... thing... folded out into a rifle, and when Jaune was about to compliment the piece of machinery, it shifted again, a wickedly curved blade extending closer to the end of the barrel, while the stock became a haft with a bladed end.

" _Holy shit_." Jaune half whispered, nearly dropping the century old blade he held in awe.

"She takes that as a compliment." Ruby giggled, before she nodded towards the piece of simple metal Jaune held in his hands, giving her own weapon a quick little twirl Jaune wouldn't have been able to do on a good day. "So, does your sword do anything special?"

"No." Jaune stated, feeling a little defeated. "It's... it's just a sword."

"Really?"

"Yeah. The sheath can turn into a shield." Jaune added as he returned the blade to his hip. "But I don't use it."

"Huh. Why not?"

"I never learned to fight with a shield." Jaune pointed out. "My dad's not the one who trained me."

 _He never wanted me to be a Hunter in the first place_.

"Ah. I guess I'll see you fight someday." Ruby grinned wryly as she returned her kickass scythe to its holster. "Maybe tomorrow?"

Jaune just smiled back as he began to walk again. "Maybe."

* * *

"Where were you? I was getting worried."

Ruby scoffed as Yang wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "If you hadn't left me thirty seconds after we landed, I'd accept that."

"Aww, come on, sis. The gang wanted to catch up before I spent the rest of my day with my little sister. Cut me some slack."

Ruby pushed Yang away, staring at her sister in disbelief. "Cut _you_ some slack? I exploded, got into an argument that probably lasted ten minutes until it was broken up, and then I got _lost_."

"Gee, that bad?" Yang cringed. "What about the guy you walked in with?"

 _Jaune_? "He's the one who broke up the argument I had _and_ the one I got lost with, and I'm sure he was just being nice."

"He got you lost to be nice?" Yang asked, grinning.

"No..." Ruby groaned in response, knowing she could have worded that better. "I mean, I think he was only hanging out with me to be nice."

"What makes you say that?"

Ruby looked over her shoulder, trying to see if she could spot Jaune in the crowd. Despite being rather tall, with a shade of hair not far off from Yang's, Ruby couldn't see him anywhere. "I don't know. He seemed rather nervous, and-"

"Are you sure he doesn't have a crush on you?"

"What?" Ruby asked incredulously, wheeling on her sister.

"Being nice to you... he was _nervous_?" Yang teased. Her sister thought she was good at hiding it with the serious expression on her face, but Ruby knew better than to fall into the obvious trap.

"No, he was just as polite with me as he was with Weiss, and I thin-"

"Weiss?"

"The girl I argued with." Ruby stated quickly, happily distracting her sister from the topic of Jaune. Yang was a little... overprotective, and if she _did_ think Jaune had a crush on her, Ruby didn't want to do that to her newfound friend. The girl would prefer to _keep_ the first friend She made at Beacon. "She was angry at me for exploding, but it _really_ was my fault, and I was just trying to apologize, but she wouldn't listen, and-"

Yang nodded slowly, waving off Ruby's explanation. "Yeah... you said this earlier, but what do you mean you exploded?"

"She bumped into my luggage, one thing led to another, and she sneezed, igniting stray particles of Burn Dust. It caused a chain reaction, and, well, she exploded. All over me."

Ruby turned towards the girl, narrowing her eyes. "Pfft, ' _One thing led to another_ ' my butt. You're the one who shook Dust everywhere."

"I'm not saying I didn't." Weiss retorted, staring Ruby down in return.

The sound of Yang snorting stopped Ruby from responding immediately, the girl looking to her older sister.

"Wait a minute... she _actually_ exploded?"

"Yes." Weiss responded matter-of-factly.

That was all it took for Yang to burst into a fit of laughter, drawing the attention of the crowd around them. "Oh man, really!?" Ruby's sister panted, clutching her gut as she bent over.

"It's not funny!" Ruby protested, feeling her face go red.

"It's no laughing matter. Someone could have seriously been hurt." Even Weiss agreed, though for different reasons. Yang slowly recovered, biting off the last chuckle as she finally looked up at Ruby's face.

"But neither of you were hurt, were you?" She asked, voice tinted with concern despite her lingering smile.

Ruby looked to Weiss, and Weiss looked back to Ruby. "No." They stated in unison.

"Then it's fine, right?" Yang supplied.

"It's not, though." Ruby stated with conviction, looking up to Weiss. The girl's light blue eyes widened in surprise. "I blew up your Dust, so... I'll find some way to pay you back for it!"

To Ruby's surprise, the girl held up a hand. "It's quite alright," she stated, "there's plenty more Dust where that came from. Just so long as you promise to be more careful in the future, so nothing like this happens again."

"I promise you I'll be more careful, but accidents do happen." Ruby noted wisely, hoping the girl would accept that.

Weiss frowned, but she nodded as she turned to face the stage, the lights dimming. "I suppose it'll have to do."

* * *

Jaune yawned as he closed his locker halfway. Crocea Mors was held to the back by the magnets installed in the frame; he'd considered leaving his armor in the locker as well, but remembering what happened right after landing, he decided keeping it on might have been a good idea – at least until he got changed for bed.

He was certain Ruby wouldn't explode again, but if that was what had happened after he'd been at Beacon for thirty seconds, he wasn't discounting anything that could pose a threat to his well-being. Thus, it was just safer to keep his armor on.

Jaune quickly checked the locker number on the piece of paper handed out to him, and compared it with the number listed on the locker before him. Certain he had the right one, Jaune closed the locker completely, entered the code, shut the locker, then re-entered the code to make sure it opened properly. It did.

The boy closed the locker one final time and walked away. He yawned again, his fatigue catching up to him. Even since back before he'd gotten on the airship, he'd been constantly in motion, either walking, running, or pacing: The actions alone weren't enough to really tire him out, but combined with the sheer amount of work his brain had been doing, it wasn't a surprise at all he was feeling a little drowsy.

He probably wasn't going to be able to fall asleep very easily, either. The tingling in his gut still hadn't gone away, though it had diminished.

' _It's up to you to take the first step_.'

That was what he was doing, wasn't it? Others had said the Headmaster's speech had been a little odd, and Jaune could agree, but he also felt like it resonated with him. It was like Professor Ozpin had been speaking _to_ him.

That made him even more nervous than he already had been.

The boy stretched his arms high above his head as he left the locker room, joints popping. A run would clear his head, and the cool late afternoon air would serve to wake him up a little, but a run while he was wearing his armor plating did not sound appealing. At all.

What could he do instead?

The blond's stomach growled. He blinked once, then twice, before he was suddenly beset by a strong feeling of hunger.

 _I haven't_ _eaten since breakfast_...

Jaune pulled apart the two halves of his scroll, the holographic screen popping to life. He quickly entered his password, and the map he'd opened earlier reappeared.

After a minute or so of simple navigation, Jaune Arc found himself before Beacon's cafeteria. From what he saw through the windows as he walked by, it was mostly empty, so the boy simply pushed his way through the large doors. A few people were seated at the tables, but none of them wore Beacon's uniform, so he assumed they were new arrivals – first years like himself.

Jaune approached the counter between him and the kitchen and peered behind it.

"Why hello there young man, looking for something to eat?" An elderly woman with a kind smile and dull eyes made her way over to stand across from Jaune.

"Yes ma'am."

"So polite. All the other students have come through already, but I'll see what I can find for you."

The blond nodded and watched as the woman walked away briskly, rounding a corner Jaune couldn't see around. After a moment, there was the muted sound of the same woman yelling obscenities at someone in the back.

The woman returned shortly after, holding a tray in her hands. She pushed the tray across the counter, and Jaune stared down at it.

"This is an entire swordfish." Jaune felt the need to point out.

"You look like you need your protein, young man." The woman smiled politely. "Run along now, I've got work to do."

Jaune took the tray, watching as the elderly woman simply took out a cloth, and started wiping down the counter. She stared back at him. Her gaze made Jaune feel uneasy, so he quickly turned away.

Finding a place to sit wasn't difficult, with how many open spots there were, but Jaune still moved decently far from the cafeteria's kitchen. He was certain if he sat too close, the old woman's stare would have burned two more holes in his skull than he already needed.

The boy finally sat, and grasped the fish firmly, before he realized he had no idea how to eat a whole swordfish. Were they even supposed to be served like this? There were a knife and fork on his tray, so he felt like he needed to use those...

"Hey, look, he has a swordfish too!"

Jaune looked over to the girl he _knew_ had to be talking about him. The orange-haired girl was sitting a few tables away, next to someone who also had a whole swordfish on his tray, just staring at the fish with a fork in one hand, and a knife in the other.

Jaune smiled at the girl who'd noticed him, waving.

"Ren, he's _waving at me_."

'Ren' just sighed as he continued to stare at the fish.

The girl got up, and hopped over her table, then the next, finally walking down the row until she was directly opposite Jaune.

"Hi." Jaune greeted.

"Hi." She responded with a smile, as she picked up Jaune's tray.

Jaune blinked tiredly. "What are you doing with my swordfish?"

The girl didn't answer, instead balancing the tray on one hand as she retraced the path she'd taken almost exactly, even hopping over each table the same way. When she finally got back to where she'd started, next to Ren, she placed the tray on the table.

Ren said something to her, and she just laughed in response.

Jaune stood with a sigh, walked all the way around the tables, and sat down across from the two.

"Just so you know, I'm pretty sure she liberated your swordfish just to invite you over here."

Jaune nodded, before he looked up at Nora. "Well it worked. Now, I have a question..."

"What is it?"

The blond looked between the two other initiates. "How do I eat this thing?"

Ren sighed, as he continued to stare at his own swordfish. "I don't know."

* * *

Weiss sighed in discomfort as one particularly familiar girl squealed lightly.

" _Stop it_!" Ruby whined playfully. Weiss cracked open one eye, seeing the smaller girl trying to push her sister aside to no avail.

"You're not getting away~" Yang cooed, pulling her way onto the girl's back, the two having been laying next to where Weiss had decided to settle down for the night. Ruby struggled beneath her sister, giggling as the blonde girl tickled her.

"Oh for the love of-" Weiss started as she sat up, practically throwing her covers off. All she'd wanted was to get to sleep early, to be fresh and ready for Initiation in the morning, but then the two sisters had to take the spots right next to her. She could have sworn they did it on purpose. "Could you two be any more annoying?"

Ruby's sister grinned mischievously as she looked up. "We can."

Beneath her, Ruby bucked, hitting Yang's chin with the back of her head. Along with the impact, the smaller girl squirmed, forcibly shifting Yang off of her. The blonde fell into a heap at her side.

"Ow _._ "

"We won't. We'll be good." Ruby reassured, smiling eagerly as she sat up straight.

Weiss nodded in thanks, though she was unsure at Ruby's ability to keep her older sibling in check.

Groaning as she shook her head, Yang sat up as well. "Gee, you must really like her, sis. You don't even show dad that much respect."

Ruby turned to Yang, looking affronted. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, the last time he asked you _not_ to do something, you went and did it anyway; which is why you're here right now."

Ruby crossed her arms and grumbled. "At least I didn't cause thousands of Lien-worth of property damage."

"Hey, that was one time." Yang protested, frowning, looking to Weiss cautiously out of the corner of her eye. "And you weren't supposed to say anything about that."

If that didn't set off warning bells in Weiss' head…

Ruby just grumbled a little more, turning her nose up and looking away from Yang.

"That sounds like an interesting story."

Weiss looked up at the newcomer, before instantly shading her eyes, sneakily lying back down while keeping Yang and her sister in her field of view, at least wanting to know what was occurring before her.

"Ruby, cover your ears." Yang paused for a brief moment to give her sister time to do so. "What the _fuck_ are you wearing?"

All Weiss had been able to see of Jaune Arc at that point was a pair of slippers that looked to be attached to his pants, both adorned with little bunny ears. She didn't even want to think about what the rest of the outfit had looked like at first glance.

The Schnee heiress had to agree with Yang, despite the vulgar language: She wouldn't have even stuffed her brat of a younger brother into an outfit like that... Or maybe she would have. She tried so hard not to sprout a grin at the thought: What would her father have done if she had?

"Hey, my sister bought this for me, I'll have you know." The boy noted. "...and is that the way you talk to someone you've just met?"

"If you look as ridiculous as that, _yes_."

"Can I uncover my ears now?" Ruby asked, Weiss watching as she leaned forward.

Yang's hair bobbed as she nodded.

"I still heard you, just so you know." Ruby noted, clasping her hands in her lap as she glared at her sister.

Weiss snorted, disguising it as a snore. Ruby looked over.

"...I'm Yang, Ruby's sister."

"Jaune Arc." The boy responded. Weiss risked discovery, parting her fingers to get a look at the boy's face. He brought a fist in front of his mouth to stifle a yawn.

"You look tired." Yang pointed out after a second. Weiss could easily agree, as she yawned herself. It looked like he hadn't slept for days, even though he'd seemed fine earlier.

Then again, an explosion in a peaceful courtyard was usually enough to wake anyone up.

Jaune looked around wearily before nodding. "Yeah, there's only so long I can stare at the ceiling before I realize I'm not getting any sleep."

"Makes sense."

Weiss watched on in anticipation as the two girls and the one boy before her didn't say anything for what must have been a good ten seconds.

"Why don't you have a seat?" Ruby offered, shuffling over as she clutched a cute looking dog shaped pillow Weiss was sure belonged to either her or Yang. "Do you have any cards Yang?"

"Shoot, I didn't bring any." Weiss heard the girl mention. The heiress then felt a chill run down her spine. "I wonder if Weiss has any."

She closed her eyes, hearing Yang shuffle over, the distance between where they'd decided to sleep not far enough for the white haired girl's liking.

"Hey, Weiss, you have any cards?" The girl shook her shoulder, even as Weiss grit her teeth, hidden behind her lips as she tried her hardest to appear asleep. "Hey." Yang shook her more. " _Hey_ ~"

"I don't have any cards." Weiss finally growled as she sat up, glaring at the blonde girl.

"That's fine, I have some." Yang held up a deck of cards, grinning victoriously. "Why don't you join us?"

Over Yang's shoulder, Weiss saw Jaune staring at her in disbelief, with Ruby trying to hide a giggle.

"Fine." Weiss declared.

* * *

Jaune yawned, the sun's shining rays passing through the windows of the hallway as he walked. He looked outside, blinking rapidly as the bright circle signalling the beginning of the day burned its shape into his eyes. He'd managed to get maybe an hour of shut-eye at the most, vaguely remembering the dull glow of sunrise before he fell asleep.

Whatever Initiation was, he wasn't ready for it.

The boy turned and pushed his way through the locker room door, dragging his feet as he made his way in the direction he was certain his own locker was in. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the piece of paper with his locker number, checking said number against the ones listed on the lockers as he passed. He sighed, realizing he had a long way to go.

"Beacon has a lot of lockers." He noted aloud, not that there was anyone to answer him.

After about a minute, things began to look familiar. He rounded a corner, nearly running into someone he didn't recognize in the process, offering his fellow initiate a short apology as they brushed past each other.

The boy strode forward, taking note of the white-haired girl he passed on the way. Weiss, whom Jaune had learned was the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company while they had been playing card games the previous night, was talking to some red-headed girl dressed in a fair amount of armor.

"Hey Weiss." Jaune called out to the attractive girl as he passed, not stopping to chat. From how irate she'd been after they'd broken off to try and get some sleep, Jaune was certain not being a bother would be the best thing he could do. That, and he was sure he looked absolutely haggard.

"Hey." She replied normally as he passed.

"...Who was that?" Jaune heard the redhead ask as he rounded the corner, not hearing Weiss' response as he made his way towards his locker.

Checking the numbers, Jaune nodded as he approached his locker. _Three from the left_. He hadn't considered mapping out where the locker had been the other day, but at least now he wouldn't forget where it was.

...If he was going to be back here.

Jaune rested his head against the locker door as he typed in the code. With a whirring click, the door unlatched, and he opened it, retrieving Crocea Mors.

The blade's weight at his side once more, Jaune closed his locker, his fingertips brushing the metal surface. His stomach felt unsettled once more, but he just smiled.

He rapped a clenched fist against his locker lightly.

Today was the day, and he had a promise to keep.

The speaker right above his locker sparked to life, and Jaune looked up at it.

" _Would all first year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation_? _Again_..."

Jaune frowned, pulling out his scroll. "Beacon Cliff?" He checked the map, zooming out until he had a better view. "Ah."

He'd make it there in no time.

As Jaune's feet carried him to the locker room's nearest exit, he began to finger Crocea Mors' pommel. His nerves were coming back. The previous night, when he'd been with Yang, Ruby, and Weiss, he'd nearly forgotten why he was at Beacon. _How_ he was at Beacon.

Hell, the shameless flirting with Weiss had been a new thing entirely, though even he knew that hadn't been the smartest thing. He blamed it on how tired he was, but it wasn't like he hadn't meant what he'd said in the end.

Surprisingly, as they'd been talking over the games they'd played, there wasn't a single moment when Jaune had felt he was at risk – every question the girls had asked, he'd been able to answer honestly. He hadn't needed to lie to any of them.

It had helped him relax, even if it hadn't been enough for him to get to sleep easily.

Jaune stepped out into the brisk morning air. The sun was likely just starting to slow its climb, beating down on him, just as his feet beat the dirt beneath them. The boy followed the path before him, passing trees as he made his way towards Beacon Cliff.

Eventually, the trees thinned, and Jaune saw the Headmaster of Beacon, Professor Ozpin, and Professor Goodwitch standing at the edge of the cliff.

Jaune wasn't afraid of heights by any means, but standing so close to the edge with their backs turned to the open space... It made him queasy thinking about it.

"Good morning." The Headmaster called out.

"...Good morning." Jaune responded uncertainly as he smiled with all the confidence he could muster, looking out beyond the edge of the cliff.

"No one else is here yet." The blonde professor at the headmaster's side noted, adjusting her glasses. "Take your pick of the platforms to your left. The others should arrive shortly, and then Initiation will begin."

Jaune nodded silently, looking at the square metal plates adorned with Beacon's emblem. There was a long row of them, the boy not bothering to count as he walked all the way to the end.

"We don't bite, Mr. Arc."

Jaune looked all the way back to the Headmaster, who had called out to him. Thinking about it, it was more than a little suspicious, him walking all the way down to the end, as far away from the two Professors as he could get.

The boy scratched the back of his head. "Sorry," He yelled over, "I thought I was being polite."

The headmaster just stared in response, before he nodded, turning to look back down the path from whence Jaune came.

Jaune let out the breath he'd been holding, adjusting the straps of his chestplate. His hands shook slightly.

The Headmaster had just called him Mr. Arc. Meaning the man knew who he was, or at least recognized him; though, there was no way of knowing whether he'd been recognized as just a student, or as a fraud.

The confidence on the faces of the first years who started arriving shortly afterwards made Jaune even worse off. A shorter boy nodded in greeting as he took the platform to Jaune's right, and a girl took the next platform. The students started slowly flowing in. Jaune couldn't see Ruby or Yang or Weiss, but he just figured he must have missed them, and they were hidden among the bodies blocking his vision further down the line. He did see Nora and Ren, but they didn't seem to notice him at all as Nora chatted away at Ren.

Beacon's Headmaster started speaking, and almost synchronized with his first word, Jaune felt something shift beneath his feet. The blond looked down at the plate, feeling a click about every half second.

He yawned.

"...Each of you will be given teammates... _today_."

 _Wait_ , _what_?

Jaune looked up to the female professor he'd heard speak, seeing Headmaster Ozpin nodding along. "These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon, so it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well. That said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

" _What_?!"

 _Ah, there's Rub– wait, after landing_? _What landing_?

Jaune looked out over the cliff, at the forest far below. The clicking he felt beneath his feet stopped, and the boy finally clued in.

" _Oh you have got to be kidding me._ " Jaune whined to himself.

"...You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair of students must choose one, retrieve it, and return to the top of the cliff. Are there any questions?"

There was no response from the other students. It had sounded simple enough, but Jaune wanted to ask a few questions himself.

With one loud click, the boy realized he had no time.

His knees bent as the platform extended, launching him high into the air as he failed to remain upright. The wind whistled past his ears as he struggled to keep his eyes open.

Jaune twisted his back around in an effort to put his feet beneath him, but the wind just pushed him back into place. With a grunt of effort, the boy managed to at least face the right way, drawing Crocea Mors.

Even with Aura, this was going to hurt.

The blonde tensed defensively as his armored shoulder collided with the first large branch that came before him, splintering the living wood easily. The impact broke his already unstable form, and he just barely managed to reach out, gouging a vicious scar into a particularly large tree as he started to descend, the first collision slowing his forward momentum.

Crocea Mors having been wrenched from his grip just a moment before he landed, Jaune's feet touched the ground, his knees buckling. The boy fell flat on his rear, groaning at the awkward landing.

Jaune continued to groan as he grit his teeth, staring up at the tops of the trees. Using the tree he'd landed next to as support, he stood. He had _not_ been prepared for that. If it wasn't for his Aura, he'd have been severely injured, or worse...

Looking up, Jaune noticed his sword had been buried up to the cross-guard in the tree which had slowed his descent. With his eyes, he traced the path upwards to the point where he'd stabbed the blade into the bark. Reaching for the hilt, Jaune pulled the heirloom out of the split wood, happy it had stopped him from turning to a fine paste.

The boy sheathed the weapon, turning around to look out at the woods.

Well, if there was anything his launch and subsequent landing had done, it had certainly woken him up.

"Now then," he began to walk, "I'm supposed to find a partner, or something? Oh, I wonder if I can find Weiss..."

* * *

" _Wooo_!" Yang cheered as she tumbled forward, rising out of the motion as she carried her momentum forward into a run. "Nailed it."

She broke the run off into a jog shortly after, scanning the trees around her, looking past the trunks into the shadows behind them. She took off her aviators. There were no glowing red eyes, there was no sinister looking bone plating...

The girl retracted Ember Celica into their inactive forms, putting her hands on her hips as she frowned. She flipped her long blonde hair over her shoulder as she looked back the way she came.

 _Should I go back and look for Ruby, or keep going_?

Yang stopped, tapping her foot as she chewed on her lip, looking between what she knew was north – the direction she needed to go – and back towards the cliff, knowing Ruby wouldn't be ahead of her.

"What to do... what to do..."

The chilling howl of a Beowolf and the numerous answers that followed got Yang's legs moving in an instant, running back towards the cliffs. If it wasn't Ruby, it would be someone else. And if it was someone else, they might need help.

She weaved through the trees, only having to dodge the odd shrub as she made her way south. The brawler extended her elbows as she entered a clearing, Ember Celica snapping into their positions.

The girl roared as she sprinted forward, sending the momentum into a titanic punch, catching a Beowolf in the spine. With the force of her fist and the firepower behind it sending the creature flying forwards, Yang announced her presence violently.

Two of the beasts before her turned from their original quarry, but Yang made short work of them. The girl flipped over an incoming swipe, stomping the Beowolf's arm into the ground as she fed it her fist. She turned, noticing no immediate threat, and she smiled as she ran towards who the Beowolves had been accosting.

" _Rah_!" Yang knocked one of the Grimm stumbling back with a dashing uppercut. Before the blonde could follow up, a thin blade pierced through the back of its neck, quickly retracting a moment later.

The wolf-Grimm fell back, Weiss stepping around it. Yang met her eyes with a nod, and turned to counter another swipe she easily dodged. She grabbed the over-extended limb, pulled, and delivered a punishing blow to the beast's jaw.

"Well, it looks like you know what you're doing, at least." The elegant girl commented, punctuated with the whine of a Beowolf.

"I'd certainly hope so." Yang answered with a grin.

With Weiss taking on her share of the Beowolves, the two girls quickly decimated the small pack.

Yang rolled her shoulder as she walked towards Weiss, the corpses of the Grimm steadily dissipating. Weiss spun the cylinder of her weapon before holstering it at her hip.

 _Left-handed._ Yang hummed as she approached the girl. _She'd_ _be a tough opponent in a fight_.

"Well, that was fun, wasn't it partner?"

The Schnee heiress looked up, her eyes widening. "Oh no..."

Yang blinked. "What?"

" _You're_ my partner."

"Yep." Yang chuckled. "It's going to be a fun-filled four years for both of us. Now come on, _smile_."

Weiss just stared, prompting the blonde to chuckle again awkwardly. "We should get moving."

"You got it." Yang agreed, turning back the direction she came.

"Is that the right way?"

"Huh? Yeah." Yang turned back, pointing past Weiss. "Cliffs are that way, and we were launched in this direction."

The girl just nodded, her white ponytail bouncing along. "Okay, I was just making sure."

Yang blinked. "Were you lost?"

"No."

The blonde hummed as Weiss stared back at her. "Alright then, let's go."

 _She'd totally been lost_.

Yang retraced her steps until she and Weiss were in the small clearing where the blonde had landed initially, before she'd turned back. A lone Beowolf – a straggler – had been sniffing around.

It didn't last long.

The two eventually found a somewhat beaten path, Yang reasoning it was likely left there from previous Initiations. If it was the path the Headmaster had mentioned when he'd given them instructions, then all they had to do was follow it.

"Did you... get a decent sleep?" Yang quizzed, preferring to talk as they walked - though she still kept an eye out for any threats.

"I slept decently enough." The heiress' response was conversational – something Yang hadn't really been expecting. What she _had_ been expecting was more snark, to echo the previous night.

"I'd have slept even better if you and your sister hadn't kept me up so late."

 _Ah, there it is_.

"You're just mad that you lost nearly every game."

"I am _not_." Weiss protested, though the girl's tone indicated she _was._ "And you looked like you were about to bash Jaune's face in when he beat you in the last hand, as much as I might have enjoyed it."

"I still can't believe he kept such a straight face with _four kings_." The girl's dissatisfaction was quickly lost upon remembering a more recent event. "Oh, speaking of, did you see him flail when he got launched?"

The blonde smiled when she heard Weiss suppress a chuckle, remembering how the blond boy had been more than a little enthusiastic in his flirting with Weiss as they'd played.

"I did. That must have woken him up right quick. He looked dead tired when I saw him in the locker room."

"Did he?" Yang hadn't seen him in the morning, just catching the brief glimpse of his shocked face as he arced up into the air.

 _Heh_ , ' _Arc_ '.

"Yeah, it was weird. He just said 'Hey' before he ambled out of sight. I'd been braced for another serenade."

"What, you didn't enjoy it?" Yang teased. "I thought it was pretty sweet."

"If he said my hair was as beautiful and fine as an early winter snow one more time, I think I would have strangled him."

"At least he only called you 'snow angel' once?"

"Please don't remind me."

Yang laughed haughtily. Jaune was... he hadn't worn that travesty last night and spent nearly every moment flirting with Weiss, she was sure she would have had a _little_ bit higher of an opinion of him. At the very least, Yang hoped he recovered from his awkward launch and landed safely.

She couldn't have Ruby back down to only a half-friend in Weiss.

"I'm surprised we haven't seen anyone else yet." The Schnee heiress mentioned.

"Right? We have to be getting close to that temple, or whatever it is."

A few seconds later, Yang crested a ridge, and the blonde had to laugh. Weiss sighed as she stood next to her.

"Well, you weren't wrong."

It _had_ to be the temple; and even better, Yang saw a familiar red cloaked girl standing near its entrance.

"Let's get down there." Yang took the first step, hopping down the steep rock face.

She touched down on the ground and began jogging towards her sister. "Ruby!"

Ruby turned. "Yang!"

" _Nora_!"

Just as Yang had been about to embrace her sister in a hug, another girl popped out of nowhere, right between the two.

Yang yelped as she jumped back. "Who are you?!"

Ruby snickered, and Yang glnced at her younger sister. "Sorry, I just _had_ to let her do it. And, well, you heard her: This is my partner Nora."

"Hello!" The girl waved.

Yang stared in shock as both Ruby and Nora grinned up at her. It was just like Ruby to somehow find someone more eccentric than herself to be her partner.

"Nice to meet you Nora." Yang offered.

"So, Yang," Ruby started, "do you have a partner yet?"

"Oh, she does." Weiss added, finally stepping next to her. What Yang hadn't expected, was for her partner to wrap around her left arm, clinging to it. "I'mher little sister now."

Ruby gasped. "You witch!"

The heiress scoffed as she pushed herself away from Yang's arm. "Yeah right. I'm probably older than her anyways."

Yang just stared at Weiss, before she slowly began to smile.

Her partner noticed her grin, and turned, frowning. "What?"

"You're pretty flat if you're older than me."

"Excuse me?!" The heiress squawked indignantly. "I'll have you know I'm still growi-"

"Not the time!" Nora called out, interrupting Weiss. "We've got _com-pa-ny_ ~"

The predatory smile on the girl's face seemed completely out of place for her attitude, but Yang followed Nora's gaze, seeing a decently sized pack of Beowolves approaching the temple from a distance.

"Let's get to work!" Nora called.

* * *

Taking a knee, Pyrrha Nikos brought her rifle to her shoulder, squeezing off two quick rounds to bring down the Beowolf that had just turned to meet her. The shots served the dual purpose of bringing down the monstrosity and announcing her presence to anyone nearby.

The redhead scowled as she stood again. That one had been a straggler too.

She'd been hoping for a bigger fight – one that would have perhaps drawn enough attention to lead someone to her. So far, she'd been forced to make her way through Initiation on her own...

And that had been her own fault, as well.

The girl sighed as she stalked past the dead Beowolf, its corpse fading quickly. Even when she'd seen Weiss fighting nearly immediately after landing, Pyrrha had waited patiently, only planning on stepping in if things went awry.

They hadn't, the second blonde Pyrrha hadn't recognized for the day charging into the fight. With the newcomer's help, Weiss had been able to manage just fine – not as if she wouldn't have, had she been alone.

She didn't _not_ like Weiss, but her enthusiasm at becoming partners was a little... much for Pyrrha, which was why she'd stayed hidden. The girl had thought of approaching Weiss and her new partner after the fight, but the two had left the clearing rather quickly, headed towards their objective.

Shortly after, the former Sanctum student took off in another direction – slightly more east than north, feeling the natural pull she'd always felt since unlocking her Semblance. Since then, she'd fought a few creatures of Grimm: a lone Ursa, a small group of Beowolves, and one young Deathstalker – the last one moderately concerning, as there was possibly an older one nearby.

The girl hadn't seen it yet, though, which was a good sign as far as she was concerned.

With her rifle ready to be brought up immediately, Pyrrha pressed through the undergrowth, both keeping her ears open and feeling out with her semblance. After a little progress, the girl felt a subtle tug, and headed in that direction.

Then that same tug was behind her. She turned, scanning the trees. Usually, such a faint pull meant the attraction was distant, but in this case...

Pyrrha turned her eyes to the dirt under her feet. She sighed heftily, picking up the one Lien piece. She quickly demagnetized the coin, putting it in her pocket.

The Mistrali native then heard faint successive popping noises. She couldn't quite hear exactly where it was coming from, but, similar to before, she felt the same manner of tug, aligning north.

As the warrior took off in the direction of the tug, she could easily source the popping noise from earlier: gunfire.

* * *

With a hum, Jaune pressed forward, holding a hand up to keep any stray branches from catching him in the eye. Even with Aura, that had been unpleasant.

It was odd, how a tree branch had been the only thing to catch him by surprise so far. Even as deep in the woods as he was, he hadn't seen a single Grimm.

Not one.

The adrenaline from being launched without warning into the woods having long since worn off, Jaune bit back a yawn. So far, his landing had been the most dangerous thing he'd had to face – the second being the low hanging branches of many tree.

 _The trees are my real enemy_. _They're more dangerous than the Grimm_.

He hadn't even needed to draw Crocea Mors yet, though he'd kept a hand near its hilt the whole time. The way the shadows seemed to move as he passed was a little unsettling, but Jaune wasn't scared. Even not having fought a Grimm, he was sure he could handle himself. There was no way he couldn't.

 _I can do this_. _I can't not do this_.

The boy heard a roar in the direction he'd been walking, and his fingers wrapped around his sword's grip. He drew the polished edge, and sprinted forward.

' _Remember Jaune_ : _if you can hear the Grimm, that likely means it's fighting._ ' His sister had instructed. ' _That means either it's being taken care of, or you need to run_.'

Jaune grinned. When she'd told him that, he was pretty sure she hadn't meant to run _towards_ it.

He broke through the line of trees, and promptly skidded to a halt _._

"That is a _big_ snake." Jaune noted fearfully as he took a step back, gripping Crocea Mors with two hands. Luckily, the Grimm seemed to be distracted, its head swerving back and forth in search of something – _someone_.

"Look out!" Jaune heard.

The head of another snake – _there had been two_? – moved rapidly, Jaune just barely managing to step out of the way in time as its white, scaly skin rushed past him. Instinctively, Jaune stuck Crocea Mors in the beast as it passed, but the blade didn't even leave a scratch as the motion almost took the sword out of his hands.

The Grimm's tongue flicked between its lips as it repositioned, and Jaune got ready to move again, holding his sword before him with both hands. He could handle this snake for a little, he was sure. He just hoped whoever else it was in the clearing could kill the other one... because he doubted he could kill either one on his own.

They were _really_ big snakes.

Jaune bent his knees, and the moment the snake's head reared back, he dodged to the side.

The creature's initial attack had missed, but when Jaune turned to face it, he was knocked aside by its neck as it attempted to follow him. The boy rolled as he hit the ground, back on his feet quickly.

He'd been knocked around enough to know how to get back up.

Keeping his sword between himself and the beast, Jaune backed away. The snake's eyes seemed to gleam like gemstones as it slowly approached.

It struck again, but Jaune backed away as its jaws closed on nothing. Before it could retreat, the boy stepped forwards, bringing Crocea Mors down.

The blade cut into the scales near the Grimm's nose, but it was nowhere near enough. Jaune doubted it felt a thing.

The white snake pulled back, lunging forwards again. Jaune backed away the same way he had before, narrowly avoiding the reptile-like Grimm's fangs. He moved to slash at its snout again, but the snake hadn't stopped its assault there.

The creature headbutted Jaune, sending the boy flying back into a tree with enough force to cause it to splinter. The breath was forced from his lungs, and he stumbled away as the trunk snapped, the top of the tree crashing down on the Grimm as it screeched. The snake appeared to be pinned, struggling beneath the weight of the hefty log.

 _Trees are dangerous_.

Taking a breath in, Jaune rushed forwards, stabbing Crocea Mors towards the eye of the trapped snake. The sword plunged deep, and the Grimm screeched loud enough that the ground shook beneath him. He pulled back to stab again, when he was battered aside.

Crocea Mors fell from his grip as he slid across the rough forest floor. The boy was quickly on his feet however, panting as he looked back.

The black snake hissed at him, slithering over its pinned relative as it approached. Crocea Mors had its tip buried in the dirt, not too far in front of the reptilian Grimm. The white snake struggled more intensely, managing to slip out from underneath the felled tree.

Both Grimm stared at Jaune intently. He couldn't take them both.

He had to run.

Just as Jaune prepared to retreat, the head of the white snake fell from its body cleanly, and the black snake screeched in retaliation, turning to the unseen attacker as if it had felt the blow itself.

Capitalizing on the distraction, Jaune charged forwards, pulling Crocea Mors from the earth as he roared. The black snake turned just as Jaune leapt, bringing the sword up in a slash.

As Jaune brought the heavy blade through the scales, someone passed the snake on the other side with their blade, ripping through the creature's flesh with just as much ferocity. As Crocea Mors exited the other side, the blond spun, barely managing to maintain his balance as he landed on the fallen tree on the far side of the creature.

The body of the snake went limp, its head falling away similarly to the way its companion's had.

Jaune panted rapidly, trying to catch his breath. He'd already been winded from when the black one had struck him, and moving so quickly immediately after had left him heaving.

The boy looked around from where he stood, the massive snakes – which he finally realized was just one snake – started to slowly vanish. The person who'd assisted him in decapitating the creature's second head, as well as taking care of the first, rose from where they were crouched, turning to face him.

Jaune hopped down from his log, sheathing Crocea Mors as he approached the girl. Her amber eyes seemed to glow as she stared back at him. He hadn't seen the girl before, but she must have been a first year just like him... and now his partner.

"Hi there." He greeted as he approached.

"Hello." She responded calmly.

"The name's Jaune Arc." The blond held out his hand with a smile. "Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. Ladies _love_ it."

The black haired girl seemed taken aback, blinking. "Are you... flirting with me?"

Jaune just blinked in return, hand still extended. He'd never been called out like that before. "Flirting?" He chuckled awkwardly. "I thought I was just introducing myself."

The girl took his hand, eyebrow quirked. "Blake Belladonna." She let go of his hand, turning as she walked into the woods. " _That's_ how you introduce yourself."

Jaune looked back to the rapidly decaying corpse, before he realized his partner was leaving. "Hey, wait up!"

The girl turned back around. "We don't have time to wait; we need to move."

"Yeah, I get that," Jaune frowned, "but north is the other way."

The girl stopped mid stride. She looked up at the sun, barely hid behind the trees, as she checked the direction herself. "Oh, you're right."

It was too bad it was almost noon, and Vale's proximity to the equator meant the sun was directly overhead. Jaune only knew because he'd been walking in the same direction the whole time, not detouring at all.

"We should be pretty close to our objective, actually. I was walking for quite a while before getting here." Jaune began walking in the right direction.

He really _hoped_ that was north – It was entirely possible the cliffs had not been south, and that they had to move alongside them instead of away from them. That would just be embarrassing, him having walked the wrong way the entire time.

"Alright then. Lead the way." Jaune's partner called.

Jaune pushed deeper into the brush, checking over his shoulder every so often. If the girl, Blake, wasn't watching him, she was keeping an eye on their surroundings – something Jaune appreciated. The girl never tried to start up a conversation, however, so it made for a very awkward trek through the woods.

Eventually, Jaune caught sight of a rather large clearing, and in about half a minute, they were out of the trees.

"Think that's the temple?" The girl called out from behind him.

"Temple? What temp- _oh,_ wait, never mind." Jaune cut himself off, seeing the large stone structure. "Let's check it out."

The two pressed on through the clearing. Jaune kept an eye out in front of them – watching the ruins themselves in case any Grimm were inside.

As they stood in the entrance, Jaune could confirm there were, indeed, no Grimm inside. Instead, all he saw were a number of pedestals. Some were empty, while some held what appeared to be chess pieces.

Those had to be the relics.

The boy looked to Blake. "You go grab a relic, I'll keep an eye out."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." Jaune nodded, turning to keep an eye on the fields behind them. "I never was much of a chess guy. I prefer checkers."

"...Alright then." Blake walked into the temple, Jaune watching her move for a moment, before he turned, scanning the distant woods for any movement.

The girl returned shortly after, Jaune looking to the piece in her hands.

"A black horse?"

"It's called a knight."

"Ah."

"So..." Blake started off. "I guess we go back to the cliffs?"

"Yeah." Jaune confirmed, starting forward. "I'll be honest with you, aside from that freaky giant snake thing, this wasn't so bad."

* * *

"I thought we just had to get back to the cliffs." Jaune complained, pulling himself up a ledge, bracing as the wind reminded him to stay flush against the rock as much as he could.

Did nature have something against him today?

The boy's partner was further up the rock face, crouched over a ledge above him. "He did say we had to return to 'the top of the cliff'."

"But why aren't there any stairs or anything?" Jaune quizzed, more grumbling than asking as he climbed up a little further. "What if we'd been tired from Initiation, and we couldn't make the climb?"

"It's part of the Initiation?" Blake shrugged. "If we couldn't do this, then we shouldn't be at Beacon?"

As Jaune reached for the next ledge, he pulled himself up quickly.

He'd almost forgotten.

"Yeah, that makes sense." Jaune confirmed, now on the same level as Blake as the girl prepared to climb even further herself. She got her strangely complicated weapon out again, letting out a length of the attached ribbon.

"Keep your head down." She cautioned.

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

Jaune pressed himself against the rock face, watching as Blake sent her weapon arcing out, pulling it back around as a gunshot sounded, the blade buried deep in the rock. Giving the ribbon a tug to check its stability, the girl began to climb.

He'd have to ask her how the _hell_ that worked.

The girl had offered to allow Jaune to climb up using the same anchor, but the blond honestly hadn't been able to trust that his weight wouldn't pull the blade right out of the cliff, plummeting back down to the bottom. Not only was he sure he was heavier than the girl, there was also his armor to consider, as light as it was.

So, he'd decided to free climb.

Jaune braced as a sudden gust of wind threatened to blow them off the cliff, watching Blake sway dangerously above.

"We made it!" Blake called down, Jaune watching her intently, his ears burning hot. He didn't take his eyes off her. Jaune had been rock climbing before with his family, so he knew he had to be attentive at all times in case of an accident... but this was different.

His partner was fit.

"Alright!" Jaune continued to stare at her rear, watching her scale the natural barrier easily. His mouth was dry.

 _Very_ fit.

The girl disappeared over the top for a moment, and a length of ribbon fluttered down. "I'll pull you up!"

Making sure he wasn't going to fall, the boy grabbed the ribbon, wrapping it twice around his wrist before gripping it tightly. "Ready!"

Jaune felt a light tug, and he began to climb fast, any concerns about falling ignored. At the edge of the cliff, he took the offered hand, his partner pulling him up to the top.

They made it. They passed.

 _He_ passed.

" _Woo_!" Jaune cheered, raising his arms in triumph. Not too far ahead of where their climb had ended, Professor Goodwitch stood, a collection of relics placed on the nearby ground. Beacon's Headmaster was nowhere to be found.

Wait... he shouldn't be this excited, should he? To Jaune, initiation hadn't been a hurdle, it had been a _mountain_. Looking to the relics already retrieved, it seemed like this was the average for _any_ student.

Reigning in his excitement, Jaune strode forward, Blake beside him.

"Your relic?" The woman requested. Blake handed the blonde the piece she took, the knight or whatever it was, and she hummed. "Congratulations. The team announcements will be in an hour or so, depending on how long the other pairs take. Take the time to rest. You've earned it."

"Thank you, ma'am." Jaune replied, though the way the woman stared at him was slightly unnerving. The boy just grinned however, moving towards the path he'd taken to the cliffs in the first place.

Blake walked to his side. "That was..."

Jaune turned to face her. "Exciting?"

"Rather underwhelming."

Jaune just tilted his head in confusion. What about getting launched into the woods, fighting a _freaking_ _huge_ two-headed snake, and topping it off with some rock climbing was 'underwhelming'?

Ah, he supposed it was exciting for _him_.

"I guess." He responded wearily, biting back another yawn.

"Tired?"

"Didn't sleep well." Jaune confirmed. "What about you?"

"I got to sleep at a decent time."

"Nice..."

"Yeah..."

The two simply walked back to Beacon in silence. Jaune occasionally glancing towards his partner, but the girl just kept her eyes straight ahead, not speaking. The boy bit his lip, trying to think of something to talk about.

The problem was, he really couldn't think of anything.

"So, that snake thing we killed back there," Jaune started, grasping at straws, "that was pretty cool, right?"

" _Mhhm_." Blake hummed. "King Taijitu are actually rather rare."

 _A King what_?

That was where the conversation stopped, the two exiting the sparse forest between Beacon and the cliffs.

"So..." Jaune tried again once they were walking in the shadow of some building. "If there's an hour until teams are assigned... What do we do now?"

"I'd imagine we wait."

 _Okay, this is going nowhere_. "...Are you hungry at all? We could go to the cafeteria."

"I'm fine, actually." The girl didn't even turn to look at him.

Jaune stopped, and Blake continued walking. He watched her as she strolled, his eyes moving lower before he realized what he was doing and snapped them back up to level when she turned to face him.

"Is something wrong?"

"Not really." Jaune claimed, before realizing he had to elaborate. "Well, isn't there anything _you_ want to do? To pass the time?"

" _Hey_! Jaune!"

Blake's mouth closed as quickly as it opened.

 _Come on, she'd been about to answer_!

"Hi Yang." Jaune greeted, smiling despite his disappointment.

"So you're _not_ a smear on the ground, that's good. We were worried about you, with how your launch went." His fellow blonde half-teased. She turned towards Blake. "This is your partner?"

"Yeah, this is-"

Yang held up a hand, and Jaune stopped. "He hasn't hit on you yet, has he?"

"Not quite, no." Blake answered.

" _Not quite_?" Yang turned back to Jaune, grinning deviously.

Jaune sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Look, I was _tired_. It wasn't the brightest decision I've made..."

"Whatever, we can talk about it later." _Please no_. "The others are back in the ballroom, you two wanna come?"

Jaune turned to Blake, and the girl just shrugged.

"Sure."

* * *

"Well, this is it."

Blake watched on, Jaune standing before the door to their room. The boy took a deep breath, running his scroll across the sensor pad, a loud click resounding as the door unlocked. The blond pushed the door open, stepping forward as Blake and the rest of her teammates followed him inside.

The four students looked around the room.

"Well, this is nice." The other male member of the team called out, even though he hadn't said a word since the team announcements.

' _Blake Belladonna, Jaune Arc, Lie Ren and Pyrrha Nikos..._ '

"It's more spacious than I'd thought it would be." The redheaded girl spoke, stepping further into the room.

' _The four of you retrieved the black knight pieces. Together, you will be known as Team Apple, led by Jaune Arc_!'

"It's still a little cramped though." Jaune countered. "… But I'm not complaining."

 _It certainly sounded like he was complaining._

Blake stretched her arms high above her head, looking to each individual bed. She glanced to her luggage, stowed away in the corner by whoever had delivered it to their dorm, before inspecting the beds once more.

"How do you guys want to decide who sleeps where?" Jaune started, apparently thinking along the same lines she had. "I'm thinking... _Ren_?"

The faunus looked over, watching the boy in green amble over to the closest bed, falling face first into the fabric. He groaned into the mattress, before he rolled over onto his back.

"...Is it Nora?" Jaune asked cautiously.

Blake tilted her head, in confusion, even as Ren shook his own.

"I was fully prepared for the possibility of us not ending up partners – or even teammates. But..."

' _Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Nora Valkyrie, and Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces, and are now members of Team Velour, led by.._.'

"...I'm still hoping this is just some horrible nightmare."

' _Nora Valkyrie._ '

From what little Blake had seen of the girl, she wasn't fit to lead anything, but _apparently_ she rallied the six other members of the two teams – every member of both ABPL and VLWR except her and Jaune – and they fought their way through a veritable Grimm horde on their way back to the cliffs.

A lot more than what she and Jaune had done, that's for sure.

Looking to Pyrrha, and then down to Ren, Blake realized she'd really lucked out. Being matched with that Nora girl – who'd almost certainly have been made leader of their team, with what little she and Jaune had done over the course of Initiation – was just... _no_.

And being put on a team with a _Schnee_? Even worse.

"If you don't mind me asking, Pyrrha..." The Sanctum graduate turned towards Blake. "Why did you guys pick a black knight?"

"Well..." The girl reached into her pocket, retrieving a small bronze coin. "Ren and I flipped a coin. I won, so I got to pick."

"So...?" Her question was still left unanswered.

Pyrrha shook her head, her ponytail dancing back and forth as she smiled lightly. "No reason."

 _Strange_.

"So... are you claiming that bed?" Jaune finally asked Ren.

"Oh, sorry, no." Ren denied, quickly getting up and turning around to straighten out the sheets. "How do we want to decide?"

"Does anyone have a preference?" Jaune asked, turning to face Blake, before looking to Pyrrha. "I wouldn't mind being close to the window."

Blake walked over to the bed furthest in the corner. If she pushed it flush against the wall and got another pillow, she'd have a comfy little corner to read in.

"Does anyone mind if I take this corner bed?" Blake quizzed.

"No."

"Nope."

"Go ahead."

 _Sweet_.

The blond nodded, turning back to Pyrrha and Ren. "Okay then, you guys choose which ones you want, and I'll take whichever is left."

Pyrrha and Ren looked to each other. "Another coin toss?" The redhead offered.

"Sure..."

Pyrrha flipped the coin into the air, Ren watching it arc up before he called: "...Heads."

The coin clattered to the floor, skipping a couple times before landing at Blake's feet.

"Tails _._ " She called over.

"Again, huh?" Ren noted despondently. "Just my luck."

Blake smiled lightly as she picked up the coin, passing it to Pyrrha. The girl caught it easily, putting it back in her pocket. "You know," the redhead started with a frown, "it hardly seems fair. Would you like the corner bed?"

Ren shrugged. "Sure."

"Then that puts us in the middle." Pyrrha claimed, turning to Blake's partner. "I guess we'll take the beds next to our partners?"

"Makes sense." Jaune confirmed.

After that, no one talked. Blake looked from Jaune, to Ren, to Pyrrha. They all glanced awkwardly at each other. Whenever Blake made eye contact, she quickly looked to the next person.

 _This is weird_...

" _Well_!" Jaune clapped his hands together, Blake flinching as he broke the silence. "I don't know about you guys, but I am _dead. Freaking_. _Tired_. I got no sleep last night... So I'm going to get changed, and then I'm hitting the sack."

With that said, the boy turned, walked over to the luggage and pulled his bag from the others, taking it over to his bed. He took off his gloves, then started loosening the straps of his armor, taking it off one piece at a time. Once he no longer had any armor on, the boy removed his hoodie, hanging it on one of his bedposts. As the boy reached for his shirt, Blake realized she should probably get changed herself.

The girl took her own bag over to her bed, pulling her yukata from its depths before briskly walking over to the bathroom. Closing the door behind her and making sure it was locked, Blake reached for the ribbon on her head, untying it.

She sighed in bliss as she scratched at her faunus appendages, before quickly stripping. The girl considered having a shower, but she figured it would be best to wait until the morning.

Looking in the mirror, the girl flexed her top pair of ears, drawing them back as she ran a hand over each, smoothing out the fur, watching as one of them twitched. The girl pulled her yukata on, then looked down at the ribbon she'd left strung across the bathroom counter.

She clicked her tongue, before deftly wrapping her ears again, adjusting the fit slightly. It was tight enough that it restricted reflexive movement, but it wasn't perfect. She had to let the blood flow freely, after all.

Taking a deep breath, she unlocked the door, pushing her way out. Jaune sat on his bed, checking his scroll, wearing a simple undershirt and flannel pants. Ren wore something similar, but his top had longer sleeves.

Pyrrha hadn't changed, just smiling at Blake as she took her place in the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Blake shrugged, turning and walking over to her bed. She sat on the edge of it, pulling her feet up underneath her. Ren retreated to the opposite corner where his bed was, laid down, getting ready to sleep himself. Jaune glanced up at Blake – his eyes resting on her legs _almost_ too long – before he nodded to her, and laid down himself, closing his eyes.

Blake just sighed as she reached into her bag for the novel she'd been reading the other night, before moving the bag to the floor so sit with her legs extended, sitting back against her pillow. She cracked it open to where she'd left off, but, in thinking of her team, she just couldn't focus on the words before her.

There was Pyrrha, a girl who had a perfect win streak in official tournament matches in Mistral, and a near perfect grade at Sanctum Academy before coming to Beacon. Blake had already known that, even if the Schnee _hadn't_ felt like bringing it up as often as she could back when everyone had been conversing before team assignments.

There was Ren, someone Blake knew very little about, but more than enough to have a basic profile. She looked across the room at him where he laid. He seemed quiet and attentive, but also apathetic.

Blake heard him yawn. Before he noticed her staring, Blake turned her eyes to her leader, who appeared to be snoozing peacefully.

 _Appeared_ , because she saw him open his eyes for a brief moment.

There was something off about her leader. He seemed overly excited after Initiation – when apparently the only thing he'd fought was the King Taijitu. Like Blake, he hadn't fought anything else beforehand, nor after.

Then, when teams were announced, and he was named leader of ABPL... He reacted in a way Blake hadn't expected at all.

' _Leader_? _Me_? _Why_?'

Blake hid her frown behind her book, narrowing her eyes as she stared at her leader and partner. The one who was going to be by her side for the next four years.

Jaune Arc... was hiding something.

* * *

 **Well, that's it. That's the chapter.**

 **Just to inform anyone who has actually stuck through the whole thing - one of my longest chapters written to date - updates for this story will not be as frequent as updates for my two other current stories (Technician and Just A Few Pointers). Mostly because I'm still desperately trying to stick to my self imposed one month deadline with those fics, so I'll only work on this one when I have plenty of spare time. But hey, if people like it, I might be inclined to spend more time on it.**

 **Leave a review or hit me up with a PM, telling me what you think. I'd love to hear your feedback.**

 **Peace!**


	2. Waxing Light

**Hey everyone, sorry about the massive delay on getting this chapter out. The gears weren't necessarily turning in sync for this chapter, along with being backlogged with my other stories...**

 **But it's all okay now! I managed to get this done without that many difficulties aside from how long it took. I hope you all enjoy it. Feel free to let me know what you think!**

* * *

 _Beta: Knight of Cerberus_

 _"Those poor pencils."_

* * *

The boy took a deep breath, the cold, firm wooden hilt of his practice sword pressed against his palm as he brought it before his eyes

"Now, just as I taught you."

Jaune brought his hand to the flat of the blade, closing his eyes as he tried to feel for his Aura. He found it – as it was always there – and let it flow through his fingertips the way she had described.

"You're doing it!"

Opening his eyes, there was dull white glow surrounding his hand. Jaune smiled as he ran it down the flat of the wooden edge, and then further. He pulled his hand away, and the shape remained.

"Quickly now, before it fades!" the voice urged on, and the young blond turned, swinging the sword in a broad sweep. The white glow faded as the edge cut through the air, and the practice sword met the tree with a loud, jarring thump.

Jaune scowled as he rubbed his sore shoulder, looking at the tiny cut he'd managed to make with the practice sword. He brushed his fingers against the wooden blade again, but this time there was no dull glow… not even a flicker of light.

The boy shoved the point of the wooden sword into the dirt with a scoff. "This is hard."

"It is," the boy felt a hand on his shoulder, "but you're so close. If you can learn how to do this, you'll be able to fight off at least a few Beowolves."

"A few Beowolves won't get me into Signal." He turned, looking up into the girl's eyes. "I'll catch up to you sis, just you watch."

* * *

Jaune Arc opened his eyes, blinking up at the ceiling. He took in a breath, propping himself up on his elbows as he looked around the mildly familiar surroundings.

It had been a long time since he'd had that particular dream. He remembered more and more of that day each time it came back to him, things becoming clearer every time he'd seen it. Swiping a hand across his forehead, it came away a little – but not overly – damp.

It had been a long time since he'd seen her and - considering his current predicament - he wasn't exactly looking forward to seeing her again.

If she knew he'd snuck into Beacon, she'd kill him.

The blond sat up, rubbing at his eyes as he turned to the left. Laying on the bed that had been pressed up against the wall was his partner, Blake.

Blake seemed to be sleeping still, most of her blankets having been pushed aside by the girl in her sleep, leaving her in just her pajamas. Jaune's eyes trailed up her legs, right to where her weird dress-thingy seemed to be riding up a little too high, and he turned away, blushing.

Rather than risking looking back at his partner's scantily clad form, he turned the other way, looking towards the other two members of the team – _his_ team.

Closest to him was Pyrrha, the girl – unlike Blake – wrapped securely in her sheets as she slept flat on her back. Ren, the other male member of team ABPL, was curled up in a ball not unlike Blake, only he seemed to still be covered with his sheets as well.

Jaune glanced to the side, looking at the crack in the blinds of the window, a thin streak of light shining through. The boy got up and strode over, pulling the cloth to the side to look out into the night. The moon, its shattered form facing Remnant as it occasionally did, shone brightly against the lavender sky, the shade indicating the coming dawn.

The boy yawned, letting the curtain return to its natural state as he took his scroll from his bedside, dragging his feet all the way over to his bag. The boy reached in, feeling around until he found some loose cloth, and pulled.

A pair of underwear in his grasp, the boy clenched a fist in victory, unzipping the side pouch to find his toiletries. Everything in hand, Jaune made his way over to the bathroom, and got to work.

After a minute or two scrubbing clean in the shower, Jaune was done, toweling himself off in the mirror as he stared at his reflection. Beacon provided towels for them, but apparently they were to take care of their own laundry – not that it was an issue for Jaune.

A strand of long black hair along the sink's basin caught the blond's eye, and he sighed, picking it up. He held it up to the light, honestly puzzled as he realized it could be Blake's _or_ Ren's. The boy shook his head, putting the strand in the waste bin, turning off the light as he made his way back to his bed.

Cracking the window open to let some cool air into the room, Jaune sighed. He breathed in, then breathed out, smiling faintly at just how refreshing the cool morning air felt against his bare skin. Opening the window wider, he leaned against the windowsill as he looked up at the moon.

There had always been something both familiar and foreboding about its light and broken form. It soothed him, but also made him restless.

Hearing a faint creak, Jaune turned in the direction of the disturbance, muscles relaxing as he saw Blake rise from her bed. He couldn't quite see her in the faint light the moon afforded their dorm, but he smiled in her direction, knowing she could see him clearly in the direct path of the moonlight.

"Morning." He whispered, hoping she could hear him.

"Morning," Blake called back even quieter, "Why are you up?"

The blond quirked his lips, shrugging as he turned around, watching the girl walk over. "I don't know. I hadn't slept much the other night, before initiation. I expected to be in bed till someone had to wake me up for class."

Blake approached, her feet and lower legs glowing in the moon's light, but not stepping any further beyond that. "Not very responsible for someone who's supposed to be our leader."

Jaune frowned, trying to think up a response to that. Did she not think he was capable? No, that wasn't it...

"You look vexed." The black haired girl noted. Jaune just stared at her until she sighed. "Relax. It was just a joke."

 _A joke_?

"Ah." Jaune smiled again, scratching the back of his head. "Sorry, I'm still not quite awake. The shower helped, but I've always been slow in the mornings."

Blake just nodded, clasping her hands in front of her as she stood.

 _This is more awkward than Alys in fourth grade_...

"So," Jaune started after a moment, quietly in consideration of their still sleeping teammates, "I... don't know much about you."

"I'd imagine you wouldn't, no. We didn't talk very much yesterday." Blake agreed.

"Yeah." Jaune nodded, looking at his bare feet for a moment, before meeting Blake's eyes, blinking. "What did you think of initiation?"

"Initiation?" The girl quizzed. It wasn't exactly the greatest conversation starter in Jaune's opinion, but it was common ground at least – something they both participated in, and something they both likely had an opinion of.

"It was boring." Was Blake's response.

"Boring?" Jaune prodded. What about fighting a giant two-headed snake was boring?

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not dissatisfied that we had an easy go of it... but I'd been expecting more of a challenge at least. What about you?"

"I don't like Grimm..." Jaune replied honestly, thinking of a way to twist his words as he spoke. "I suppose I'm glad we didn't run into as many as Ren and Pyrrha's group did. I mean, it's a Huntsman's duty to fight them, but that doesn't mean I look forward to it all the time."

Blake nodded with a straight face. "Our objective was to retrieve the relics and we managed to do so with little resistance, which is something we'd appreciate on an official mission."

Jaune nodded in tandem, agreeing with the girl even as she made excuses for him.

"I've never fought one of those snake things before." Jaune admitted. That thing had seemed a _little_ over the top, even for the initiation of a school like Beacon.

Jaune kept his eyes on Blake's as the girl hummed, watching as she glanced down at his bed's disturbed sheets.

"You can sit, if you'd like." Jaune offered, uncertain as to whether that was what was on the girl's mind or not. The boy felt a little relieved, however, when Blake motioned to sit at the very edge of his bed, her knees pressed together.

The sitting girl smiled up at Jaune, and Jaune smiled in return.

"What... should we talk about?"Jaune asked after a moment of hesitation.

"I don't really know."

Jaune's grin grew as he chuckled nervously, the black haired girl doing the same in response.

Jaune, in his time back home, hadn't exactly been the best at making friends. Sure, he'd gotten along fine with most – emphasis on _most_ – but he never really had anyone he considered a true friend.

Well, aside from his self proclaimed seventh sister, but she was a whole other case.

"Why don't you tell me about yourself?" Blake suggested, tilting her head slightly.

It was an innocent enough question, but it still gave Jaune pause. The boy had spent a long time developing a cover for himself: A student of some nearly forgotten combat school, having barely made it into Beacon based on his grades...

But as he leaned against the windowsill, staring into the girl's eyes, nothing came to his mind but the truth.

"I grew up in a village not far down the coast from Vale, with my family." Jaune started out, trying to think of exactly what he could share without digging himself a hole. "My father's a retired Huntsman, and my mother runs a produce stall where she sells the vegetables she grows in the garden – even though we had enough Lien without her doing so."

"Sounds peaceful."

"It was peaceful... back when I was an only child." Jaune admitted, the corners of his mouth turning up in a smile.

"You have siblings then?" The girl leaned forwards.

"Seven sisters."

" _Seven_ sisters?" The girl's eyes widened.

"That's everyone's reaction, yeah. Though, in a small village like mine it's more common than you think." Jaune noted. "We had a bigger garden before we were forced to move."

The girl hummed, before her face twisted into a sour expression that didn't go unnoticed by Jaune.

"Did they all make it?"

Jaune nodded, knowing what Blake was referring to. "We were lucky."

"That's good."

The blond looked over his shoulder, staring in the direction of the dull pink glow brought on by the sun about to peek over the horizon. "What about yours?"

"I'm an only child." Jaune heard the girl say, turning back to her. Blake didn't say more, instead just staring at the floor with a somber expression.

Jaune wouldn't pry – his six younger sisters and all their problems had proved doing so wasn't exactly the best course of action.

"That's hard to imagine."

Blake just nodded, looking up at Pyrrha's bed. Jaune did the same, watching the steady rising and falling of the girl's sheets as she breathed, feeling a gust of wind blow past him into the room.

It looked as if the redheaded girl shivered, and Jaune did as well, reaching up to pull the window closed.

"Are you hungry?" Jaune asked of his partner, latching the window.

"I suppose I am..." Blake started slowly, "but I wouldn't mind taking a shower first."

"Sure, I need to get dressed anyways. Oh, I used the towel on the far left..."

* * *

"It's morning!"

Yang groaned, stubbornly shoving her face deeper into her pillow as she tried to ignore the jubilous call of her team's leader.

"Sis, didn't you hear? It's morning!"

The blonde slowly turned her head to the side, glaring at Ruby. Yang had barely been able to tolerate Ruby's early morning antics at home...

And now there were two of her.

"If the sun isn't up yet, there's no reason for me to be." Yang muttered, closing her eyes.

The shrill screech of a whistle sounded, and Yang flailed, moving her hands to cover her ears.

"Wake up, lazy butt!" Yang heard Ruby call, and she blinked her eyes open – only it wasn't Ruby, but the leader of her new team, Nora.

The grin the girl had stretched across her face was uncannily similar to Ruby's when she was being mischievous, but much less infectious with Yang's current mood.

"Okay..." Yang heard from one bed over. "Who's bright idea was it to give her a _whistle_?"

"It was me. I did it." Ruby declared proudly, as Nora blew into the noisemaker softly. Yang winced at the high pitch, looking over to her partner's bed.

One of Weiss' eyes was half lidded, the other still closed shut. Her hair was splayed sporadically, and her lips were curled into a frown – all evidence that her own slumber had been disturbed recently, and in a similar manner as to Yang's own.

Weiss sighed in response, pulling the hair in front of her face to the side as she swung her legs over the edge of her bed.

"What time is it?" Yang's partner asked.

The blonde herself propped herself up on one arm, looking in the direction of Ruby and Nora, blinking the sleep from her eyes as she noticed the two of them were dressed in their uniforms already.

"Eight o'clock." Nora responded chipperly. "That leaves about forty-five minutes for the two of you to get ready for classes. I could have let you sleep longer, but I wasn't sure how much prep time you guys needed, or if you wanted to get something to eat first."

Yang stared at the girl for a moment, before smiling. "That's thoughtful of you."

"I let her know you might take awhile." Ruby admitted – Yang noticing she was wearing her cloak alongside Beacon's uniform.

Yang hummed her thanks, sitting up as Ruby hopped over to her bed. The blonde looked at the mass of bags still piled in the corner of the room, and cringed, turning to Weiss. "I guess we should get dressed first?"

They could worry about unpacking – _and decorating_ – later.

Yang strode over to the closet, swinging it open as she yawned. The blonde grabbed what had to be her uniform, not even checking its size – already knowing the smaller looking one belonged to partner.

Though, Yang did grab the Schnee girl's outfit, holding it out to the girl behind her. "Here."

"Thanks." Yang felt the hanger lifted from her hand, and turned, walking back to her bed.

The blonde pulled her undershirt off, turning towards Nora. "So what's our first class?"

Yang noticed the girl's green eyes lingered on her chest for a moment, before they turned down to her scroll as she slipped into the bra she'd worn the other day. "Today our first class is with a Professor Peach: _Dust Mechanics_ , it says."

"And we're all in that class?" Weiss asked, her head peeking out past the closet door, using it for privacy as she changed.

"Yeah, we're only splitting up for a couple classes after lunch." Nora noted, her eyes scanning the holographic display.

"Tomorrow we have one class together, first thing in the morning." Ruby mentioned from across the room, kicking her legs in the air as she laid back. "The rest of the day, we're all scattered around, for whatever reason."

"And classes start at the same time again tomorrow?" Yang had to ask. Maybe she could set an alarm, hopefully wake up before she'd be woken up.

"That's right."

Yang hummed, pulling her leggings on. They hadn't really discussed anything – or really even talked much the night before. "We're split up before lunch, right?"

The orange haired girl before Yang pulled her legs up beneath her on her bed. "I've already thought about that. How about we all meet up for lunch together?"

"Seems like a plan." Yang confirmed.

Nora nodded in response.

Fully clothed, Yang sat back on her bed, running her fingers through her hair. She glanced to the side, seeing her partner walk over, dressed in her uniform as well.

Yang smiled at the girl, patting the open spot on the mattress next to her. Weiss raised an eyebrow, but still sat, smoothing out the few wrinkles in her skirt the action caused.

"So..." Weiss started out, looking over to Ruby and Nora. "What are we going to do for roughly thirty minutes until class begins?"

Yang glanced over at the bags in the corner once more.

"We could start unpacking?" Yang suggested. "Just get our clothes put away, at the very least."

"Sure!" Nora agreed cheerfully. "I already put my stuff away, so I can help you guys!"

"When did you do that?" Yang asked, realizing she didn't see Nora's bags among the ones in the corner, remembering the vivid pink suitcases that had been there the night before.

"I did it about an hour before Ruby woke up."

"...And when did Ruby wake up?"

"At about five in the morning."

Yang cringed. "That early?"

"Yeah, if I'm not up early enough, I can't do my workout." Nora explained.

"I see... well... sure," Yang confirmed, "I could use some help."

* * *

Jaune took a breath, settling into his seat. The boy spread a notebook before him, setting a pencil to the right of it, as was the common fare for taking notes. Blake took the seat to his right, bringing out some stationary and the like of her own.

"The other two aren't here yet." Blake noted.

"They're not?"

The girl nodded in response. "You left them a note, right?"

"Yeah, that we'd gone to breakfast, and were headed to class immediately after. I taped it to the door." He hummed. "Well, there's still a minute or two until class starts, but they're cutting it close."

"I hope we're not punished if they're late."

Jaune nodded his agreement as he stretched his arms behind his head, looking at his partner out of the corner of his eye as she pulled a book from her bag. He leaned forwards slightly to see if he could read the title on the spine as she began to read, the cover facing the other way.

"What?"

Jaune looked up at the girl's voice. Her eyes hadn't left the book. "Oh, nothing. I was just wondering what you were reading."

"I see."

"I noticed it's a different book than the one you were reading in the cafeteria," Jaune mentioned, remembering the other one's pale cover. "I was just curious."

"Did you?" The girl turned to look at him this time. "I'd just finished that book."

"So you had another one ready to go?" Jaune let out in wonder. "I don't know whether that's impressive or sad."

"Sad?" His black haired partner accused.

Jaune's eyes widened at Blake's hostile tone. "That's not what I meant! I was... I mean-"

The girl turned her eyes back to the novel. "What do you mean 'sad?'" Her expression hadn't changed, nor had her tone.

"I didn't mean it like that, I just meant it was kinda sad that you went straight to another novel, instead of... I don't know..."

"Talking to you?"

"Yeah! That! ...I guess."

Blake scoffed, turning a page before closing the book. "We talked plenty in the cafeteria, didn't we?"

"We did." Jaune admitted. "But I still don't feel like I know you, really."

"It's pretty foolish to think you can know somebody in just one day."

 _Foolish_? Jaune's eyebrow twitched.

"Well, maybe for you."

The girl grunted, just continuing to read.

Sure, Blake had talked to him in the cafeteria – as had he talked to her, but that was just idle chit-chat.

Blake's favorite color was black, and she liked reading. Whoopidy-do, what was he supposed to do with that information? File a missing person report?

You couldn't even find Ozpin in his office with that information.

The boy sighed, picking up his pencil as he twirled it in his fingers. He looked down at his notebook, putting down the date and the title of the class, as he always had.

"Good morning, students!" A voice boomed out, causing Jaune to flinch. As the boy did so, his pencil lead broke, and he sighed at his luck.

He had another pencil, but he supposed he'd wait until the professor was done his introductions before he'd reach for it.

The short, yet large man at the front of the class cleared his throat. "My name is Peter Port, professor of Grimm Studies here at Beacon Academy. You may refer to me as 'Professor Port', 'Mr. Port', or even 'Peter', if you'd like."

Jaune blinked, looking behind him at the other students. Everyone seemed to have rather ordinary expressions on their faces, but Jaune turned back to the professor with a smile.

The blond liked this guy – much more than any of the teachers he'd had to deal with in high school.

"What are we going to be learning about in Grimm Studies, you might ask? Why, but our very enemies, how to kill them, and claim victory! I am of course, talking about the act of hunting itself, in the sense that so many behind the walls of the Four Kingdoms have long forgotten! Monsters! Demons! Prowlers of the night: The creatures of Grimm have many names, but I simply refer to them as-"

The door into the lecture hall slammed open, and in strode two familiar faces.

Ren hunched over, catching his breath as Pyrrha stumbled forward, using the boy's shoulder as support.

"Sorry... we're... late..." Ren panted out, struggling to stand straight.

Both of Jaune's teammates seemed to be out of sorts – Ren's tie was loose and his shirt was partially untucked. Pyrrha's ribbon wasn't tied, and Jaune could clearly see one of her buttons was undone.

"No, no, it's quite alright!" The professor laughed boisterously. "It's your first day, so I'll let you off with a warning this time. However..." The man's expression turned dark. "The last time I was late, it resulted in civilian casualties. Now please, find a seat."

Ren and Pyrrha snapped straight. "Understood." The girl declared. "It will never happen again."

Professor Port – a man far too intimidating to have been just a simple teacher – turned. The moment his eyes left the two, they ran towards the empty spots next to Jaune and Blake, Pyrrha vaulting over the desk to take a spot next to Jaune, while Ren slid in next to Blake.

"Hi." Jaune greeted, not really having had a chance to talk to the other female member of his team.

"Hello." She let out after a breath, Jaune noticing she hadn't had her hair done up in a ponytail like before – as tussled and unruly as it was – though she still wore her circlet.

"As I was saying..." The professor of Grimm Studies was smiling jovially again. "The creatures of Grimm are but _prey_ , and we are Hunters! Or, you _will_ be, upon your graduation from this prestigious academy. Now then! Earlier I mentioned..."

Jaune turned his eyes to Pyrrha's fingers, still listening to the professor's lecture. He watched as the girl tied her ribbon, before she looked on either side of where she sat.

"Here." Jaune whispered, tearing a piece of paper out of his notebook and sliding it to the girl, leaning to the side to grab two pencils – one for himself, and one for her.

"Thanks."

Jaune's eyes trailed down to her chest, before he locked with her eyes once more. "You missed a button too."

The girl looked down, and blushed. "...Thanks."

Jaune held the pencil out to her, turning his full attention back to the professor's lecture, but sparing a brief glance to his left as she watched the redhead button her top.

The boy shook his head, leaning forwards in preparation to take notes. His pencil hit the paper as he was about to write, and the lead point snapped once more.

"Are you kidding me?" He hissed, tossing the useless pencil back in his bag as he rested his chin in his hand, teeth grinding in annoyance.

"...I was but a boy, then, and when my grandfather told me something, I listened..."

Not taking his eyes off the professor, Jaune leaned to his left, reaching for his bag. He felt his fingers brush against something soft, and he furrowed his brow, turning to look. The boy instantly retracted his hand, realizing his hand hadn't been anywhere near the bag on the floor, but was instead brushing against Pyrrha's leg.

He looked up at the girl, her blushing face looking down at him as he leant over.

"Sorry." He whispered, reaching into his bag and retrieving a pencil for certain.

"I'm sorry _._ " She whispered back, though Jaune had no idea what she was apologizing for.

Jaune sat up, looking to his right. Blake looked away – though Jaune knew she'd been watching him – instead turning her attention back to Professor Port. Ren, on the other side of Blake, seemed to be writing notes just fine, though he took in a lengthy yawn. Perhaps he didn't get the best sleep?

The blond sighed, dragging his pencil across paper as he wrote closer to the bottom of the page – he could always ask around, see if someone took the earlier notes, then cram them in.

"Of course, the Beowolf thought it was being so clever..."

Jaune's pencil stopped moving at the odd name.

 _A Beo-what_?

The boy blinked, quickly writing down the rest of what the man said, though he skipped over the name.

"...and I returned to my village with the beast in captivity and my head held high, celebrated as a hero!"

The man bowed in a grandiose manner, and Jaune motioned to bring his hands together in a clap, pausing just before they made contact as he looked around the room. No one else had been clapping, so the boy just set his hands on his desk, ready to write.

"The moral of this story? A true Huntsman must be honorable! A true Huntsman must be dependable!" The man's back straightened. "A true Huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise!"

Jaune nodded, as he took those points down.

"Who among you believe themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"

 _Well, I am honorable. I think. Dependable I can work on... same with strategy. Well-educated and wise? Oh yeah, that's me alright_...

A moment passed and the Professor raised an eyebrow, looking out over the class. After a moment, Jaune realized no one had raised their hands, or otherwise made a sound.

The blond slowly raised his hand.

"Excellent!" The man proclaimed. "Better late than never, right Mr. Arc?"

"Sorry," The boy apologized, standing, "I was just... going over my notes."

"That's quite alright, my boy!" The man gestured for him to come forwards, and Jaune slid past Pyrrha, the girl leaning back to let him out of his spot. "Now then, have you ever fought a Boarbatusk before?"

"A what?" Jaune asked.

There was a loud crash and a growl from across the room, and Jaune barely managed to suppress a shriek, jumping at the sudden disturbance. Situated against the far wall, there was a large cage, some weird, boar-looking Grimm inside it.

 _How the hell did I miss that_?!

A few of the students in the room laughed at Jaune's expense, the blond blushing at the sudden attention. Professor Port turned towards those who had been laughing, and said laughter ceased.

"I suppose this will be a learning experience for you, then! Take a few minutes to go grab your gear..." The professor instructed, before addressing the class as a whole. "While Mr. Arc is preparing, I'll be taking questions."

Jaune nodded, jogging over to the classroom's door as he cast a look over his shoulder at the cage, and the beast within.

"No questions? A shame then... Allow me to tell you another story, back from when I was just a budding huntsman..."

* * *

"With a mighty swing of my axe, I cleaved the beast in two... but wait, there's more!"

Blake took in a long breath through her nose, before sighing. The girl glanced down at the book set in her lap, making note of where she was, before closing it and shoveling it into her bag.

It annoyed her to no end, her current situation: The professor was loud enough that it disturbed her reading, and – to be frank – his stories were _boring_.

The girl turned to her partner's empty seat, looking past it to Pyrrha Nikos – worth mentioning that she was _the_ Pyrrha Nikos, as in the four-time Mistral Regional champion Pyrrha Nikos.

Being on the same team as the girl was both a blessing and a curse: A blessing in the sense that she'd be... learning... alongside one of the best, but a curse in that their team was practically guaranteed to be participating in the Vytal Festival Tournament later in the year.

That meant attention she didn't want, nor need.

Currently, Pyrrha was resting her chin on her arms, watching the professor as he walked around the room with lidded eyes. Clearly she was as entertained as Blake was with the professor's tales, but was at least making the effort to listen – a task Blake herself had abandoned.

The girl yawned, glancing over to Blake. The faunus offered a smile of support, which the redhead reciprocated, before turning her attention back to their professor.

Another yawn sounded from her right, and Blake turned to its source: Pyrrha's partner, Lie Ren.

The boy twirled a pencil between his fingers, before writing something down as the professor talked. Blake leaned a little closer to take a look, having no idea what kind of information he could strip from Professor Port's words.

The girl blinked, taken aback at what looked to be an entire page full of notes. Then, the boy groaned, flipping his pencil over to erase a number, filling it in a moment later.

Blake took a closer look. It was... a recipe?

The girl looked up at her teammate's face. He looked straight forward, appearing intently focused on what the professor was preaching. Ren frowned, writing down something else – completely unrelated to what the man had been saying.

Blake leaned back in her seat. _Okay, so I'm not the only one who's not paying attention._

Though, a cursory glance around the room at the students behind her was enough to have told her that on its own.

The door into the room clicked open. "Professor?"

Jaune, the leader of team ABPL walked in, wearing the same gear Blake had seen him in the day before. The girl watched on as he thumbed the hilt of the blade at his side, walking up to Professor Port.

He looked a little apprehensive as he shuffled forward. Blake found it odd at first, but then remembered he'd admitted that he'd never fought a Boarbatusk.

They were fearsome opponents.

"Aha, welcome back." Professor Port greeted. "I trust you've taken care of any preparations you feel you've needed?"

The blond blinked. "Yes?"

"Wonderful!" The professor walked over to the chalkboards on the back wall, bending his knees slightly.

A moment later he jumped roughly ten feet in the air, grabbing the weapon that had been hanging on the plaque above, landing softly.

Ren's pencil hit the desk, the sound echoing around the classroom.

"Now then, please take your position directly across from the cage." The professor ordered, stalking over to the said cage with his weapon over his shoulder. "If you're the first thing the beast sees as it leaves the cage, it will move to engage you directly, above all others. Safety first, and all that. You can never be too careful!"

Blake didn't see what was safe about keeping a Boarbatusk captive in a classroom full of students, but she saw the blond nod, drawing his sword and holding it before him. The girl drew her lips tight, recalling all she'd learned about the boy when they'd talked in the cafeteria before class.

After getting their food – which, admittedly, wasn't much – they'd found a table off in the corner to sit at and ate. She'd answered what few questions he'd asked, but otherwise, she hadn't talked much. Of course, Jaune was the one who initiated conversation for the most part, Blake content to just read. Jaune hadn't really bothered her much beyond a couple interruptions, and even those she'd expected.

The big issue was that there was still something _off_ about the boy and, more irksomely, she didn't know what.

Idly, Blake realized his notebook had been open next to her, and she hadn't even looked at all. Shaking her head lightly, she scanned the open page, finding there were few notes; but, they were indeed notes on what their professor had been talking about before Jaune had left to get ready to fight.

That he'd been able to take anything away from what Professor Port had been saying spoke volumes about his patience and ability to listen.

The girl leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms as she watched her partner settle into a stance, prepared for the beast in the cage to be unleashed.

She'd apparently missed whatever was said between the professor and his partner, as the older man brought his axe down on the lock, the cage knocked open by the Grimm within.

With a squeal, the Boarbatusk charged out of the cage, across the open floor of the classroom. Blake watched as the Grimm barreled towards Jaune, but the boy didn't move immediately, then dodging to the side when it was too late for the Boarbatusk to shift with him.

The feet of the boar-like Grimm scraped along the floor, leaving light furrows across the tile. Looking closely, Blake could see they were not the only such scuff marks, the tile long since worn.

 _Is this normal for his class_?

Blake kept her eyes on Jaune, the boy continuing to hold his blade at the ready as he took a couple steps to the side. After a moment, Blake realized he was positioning himself in a way that the boar would do something similar.

Did he have a plan?

The look on the blond's face was one that was vaguely familiar to Blake: one of concentration, of thought.

She hadn't seen her partner fight for real yet. All she'd managed were the quick glances during the Taijitu fight, and that was it. If he was anywhere near as intelligent as he seemed in this situation, he'd definitely work out as leader of her team.

At least, from what she knew.

The boar charged again, and Jaune dodged to the side again, not striking what was an obvious opening to her. Was he waiting for something?

The blond settled into a stance again and waited, the boar turning before roaring.

The boar charged again, and Jaune dodged again. And again. And _again_.

They kept changing positions back and forth across the floor, the only real difference being how Jaune seemed to be breathing heavier.

The blond sheathed his sword, pulling it and its scabbard off his belt.

"What's he doing?" Pyrrha asked.

Blake narrowed her eyes as the boy brought his blade to his shoulder, sheathed as it was. He bent his knees, ready to dodge again.

 _I have no idea._ Blake responded silently.

The Boarbatusk charged once more, and Blake's partner tensed up, dodging at the last second with a leap to the side. Unlike the previous dodges however, the boy's legs got under him, and he chased the Grimm down, running alongside it.

The beast turned, facing the blond as he ran towards it. Jaune brought his sword around, running his hand along the length of it.

The Grimm's large tusks clattered against the tiled floor, severed cleanly. After what was barely a moment, the boy took his blade, and rammed it right in the center of the Boarbatusk's head.

The blade, sheath and all, glowed brightly as it was buried to the hilt. Jaune pulled his sword out after a moment, the glow fading.

 _What the fuck_?

"Fine work, Mr. Arc!" Professor Port praised from where he'd been watching, though Blake only had eyes on her partner as he returned his blade to his belt. "An impressive performance, especially considering your lack of experience."

"My what?"

"Your lack of experience fighting against a Boarbatusk."

"Oh. _Oh_." The boy rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Thank you."

"Again, well done." The professor nodded. "Please, return to your seat. There are still a few minutes remaining until class is over, and there's one more thing I'd like to cover."

Blake suppressed a groan at that, but continued watching as Jaune walked over to their shared desk. Pyrrha stood to let Jaune in, as leaning back wouldn't be enough now that he was wearing his armor.

"Hey, what you did just now..." Pyrrha started as he slid his way in.

"What about it?"

"...It's nothing."

Blake frowned. It wasn't necessarily surprising that a girl with more fighting experience than she had knew what had just happened... but it _was_ frustrating.

"Do you..." Blake leaned forwards, the blond turning towards her, "...think you could tell us what the _hell_ you just did?"

Jaune picked up a pencil, and smiled at the girl as their professor started talking. "Later."

Blake blinked, watching as Jaune moved to write.

The boy's pencil lead broke. He sighed, grasping the length of the tool with both hands, before snapping the whole thing in two.

"That was aggressive..."

"I don't want to talk about it."

* * *

"Like, I get Dust works that way. That's simple but..."

Weiss pursed her lips, trying to decide how to better explain it to the girl. "Think of it this way: There's three ways to activate Dust. You can use other forms of Dust, you can activate it physically – like a collision... or a _sneeze_ – or you can activate it with your Aura."

"Physically I get - that's how ammunition works. Same with the reaction between two types of Dust." The girl's brow furrowed in confusion. "But I don't see how you can use Dust with a semblance."

The white haired girl frowned, unsure what was so hard for the girl to understand. Taking another forkful of food in her mouth, the heiress chewed, unsure what to say.

"It depends on the semblance."

Weiss turned to the newcomer at the table, her partner, Yang. The girl sat down next to her with a tray full of food while Nora, the leader of their team, sat across from her.

"What took you guys so long?" Ruby asked, clearly happy to see her sister and partner.

"Our history class is at the other end of Beacon." Yang stated. "It's quite the walk."

"We'll keep that in mind when we need to go there this afternoon." Weiss noted. "You said it depends on the semblance?"

"Well, it makes sense, right?" Yang offered, preparing to dig into her meal. "Not everyone's semblance is, well, _useful_. And not everyone's semblance can really utilize Dust. Like Ruby."

"Oh, I get it now!" Ruby declared. "You can activate Dust with your Aura, but unless you have a semblance to channel it with, it just acts like raw Dust?"

Weiss smiled. "Precisely."

"Why didn't you just say that in the first place?!"

The heiress grumbled, stabbing her fork into a carrot on her plate. "That _is_ what I said the first time, but you disagreed, saying-"

The girls next words were cut off by a loud belch. Weiss and the two sisters turned, the heiress herself glaring at Nora, making note of her leader's empty tray.

"Whoops, sorry."

 _Ew_...

"So..." Ruby started out awkwardly. "How was history?"

"Hard to follow." The orange haired girl noted. "The professor seems like he's going off on a tangent one moment, then it's right back to the material he's teaching."

"You don't know when to stop or start with your notes." Yang explained.

"I see..." Weiss acknowledged.

"How was your free period?" The blonde quizzed.

"Ruby and I are already done our Aura homework."

"...We had homework?"

The heiress turned to glare at her partner. "You're joking, right?"

"Was it those readings we were supposed to do?"

Weiss could only sigh. "Yes, it was those readings."

"Oh yeah, I did those in history class."

Weiss didn't honestly know what to think of Nora – neither as a person, nor as a leader.

The girl was carefree, and maybe a little odd, but it wasn't like she didn't know what she was doing. In the morning, she made sure they were up and ready for class on time. She arranged their lunchtime meeting. There was nothing wrong with the girl's leadership, nor her actions as leader.

It bothered Weiss to no end, and it bothered her even more that she didn't know why it bothered her.

"The next class is one we all have together, right?" Ruby asked, the girl turning to Nora.

"Yes, Grimm Studies." Their leader confirmed, though it looked like she was distracted, looking out over the many bodies at the surrounding tables. Her lips turned up in a smile and she stood. "Ren!"

The girl waved her arms high in the air. "Ren!"

Weiss grit her teeth, noting how Nora didn't seem bothered by the stares she was receiving from those at the nearby tables. The heiress turned, ignoring everything in favor of looking for who she was calling out to.

"We could see you from across the room." The boy named Ren stated, balancing a tray in hand as he navigated through the narrow aisles between the tables. The rest of his team was behind him – Jaune, Pyrrha, and that black haired girl Weiss hadn't spoken to yet.

Ren took the seat next to Nora, with Jaune taking the seat next to Yang. Their partners all sat one seat further.

"What did you guys have last period?" Ruby asked rather suddenly.

"Aura Theory with Professor Peri." Jaune, the team's leader, answered.

"She certainly knows how to make a lesson interesting." Pyrrha tacked on with a faint smile, spearing something on her tray.

"Better than Professor Port." The black haired girl countered.

"Much better than Professor Port." Pyrrha confirmed.

 _What's wrong with Professor Port_?

"What's wrong with Professor Port?" Jaune asked, mirroring Weiss' thoughts. "I liked him."

The other three members of ABPL turned towards the blond, staring at him in disbelief.

"How?" Ren asked, Weiss confused by the exchange occurring before her.

"I got to kill that... whatever that was."

"Boarbatusk."

"Boarba-what?"

"Ooh, I like those." Nora exclaimed. "They're cute."

"What?"

Weiss just turned her attention back to her food, and continued to eat, tuning out everything that was said around her from that point on.

* * *

Jaune smiled to himself as he strode forward, his eyes locked on the hall before him as he walked, only looking down to make sure his tie was straight. With a quick adjustment, he was again certain it was in place.

It had been such a good day so far. The classes, the professors... Beacon was everything he could have hoped for – everything he'd ever wanted.

But none the less, it frightened him.

In Port's class, he unwittingly offered himself up as a volunteer to take on a real Grimm – only the second he'd ever fought – in front of his entire class. Doing that had been more terrifying than fighting any beast that he could dream up, though he'd certainly managed to pull that win out of his ass once he figured out how to go about it.

From that point on, the day got better, and the day got worse. He'd had more time to talk with Pyrrha and Ren – though Blake had continued to keep to herself. All the other classes had their ups and downs. In a few more hours the day would be done, and he'd be able to unwind a little.

The blond grinned to his right, meeting his partner's eyes for a moment before she turned her eyes forward. He and Blake were the only ones from their team who had history class that afternoon, so it gave him a little more time to spend with his partner.

Though, it still irked Jaune she didn't seem to be one to talk much. The boy could accept that, but she still felt like such a stranger to him, even after a whole day.

' _It's pretty foolish, to think you can know somebody in just one day_.' He'd dismissed her words back then pretty easily, but now he was seeing the truth they held.

Well, if she didn't want to talk, then he guessed he wouldn't talk either.

"So..." The girl spoke up, Jaune sighing as she broke the silence he'd finally resigned himself to. "That thing you did with your sword earlier..."

"What about it?" Jaune asked, turning to meet the girl's eyes.

"You never did explain what it was that you did." Blake accused, though it was more like she was just pointing it out.

"Ah, just a neat little trick my sister taught me." Jaune stated. "If you concentrate, your Aura can take form. What she always did was a little different – and she's way better at it than I am."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, she's... good."

"Good?"

" _Really_ good." Jaune confirmed, realizing he'd made a huge mistake.

The skin prickled on his neck, and a shiver ran through him.

 _What the fuck was I thinking_? _Why am I here_? _I'm so dead_!

She was here. In Beacon.

And there's no way she wouldn't know he lied to get in.

"Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Jaune blinked. "Oh, uhh... I was just thinking about class coming up."

"About what those girls on the other team said?"

"Yeah." Yang and Nora had warned them about this 'Doctor Oobleck', and his tendencies when they'd eaten at the cafeteria table with them during lunch. "I'm sure they were exaggerating..."

"The... energetic one doesn't seem like she had much of an attention span, no." Blake seemed to agree. Jaune watched her bring a hand to her chin, the girl humming.

"Nora? Yeah, I suppose." The boy thought back to when he'd first met the girl. "Definitely unique."

"You can say that again."

"Definitely unique." Jaune joked with a smile, earning a scowl from the girl. It didn't matter if she didn't like it; he did.

Jaune made note of the open door before him – certain it was the entrance to their Professor's classroom – pulling his scroll out of his pocket to check the time. It hadn't taken them very long to make it there, but that had also likely been an exaggeration on Nora and Yang's part.

"You mind going in and saving a seat for me?" Jaune asked, Blake turning towards him. "I've got to go to the washroom really quick."

"Yeah, sure, fine by me." Blake smiled tauntingly back at him. "Don't be late like Ren and Pyrrha were."

"I still can't believe they slept in..." Jaune groaned.

"Just don't fall asleep in the washroom and you'll be fine then, right?"

"Yeah yeah, whatever. I'll be back."

Jaune smiled to himself as he turned, looking down at the map he pulled up on his scroll. He quickly found the shortest route to the nearest bathroom, and began walking. He glanced over his shoulder, seeing Blake duck into the classroom just as he turned a corner.

Blake was a nice girl: Jaune could admit, he didn't quite know what to really think about her yet, but she was nice. She wasn't like the girls in high school who'd been paired with him for group projects then actively ignored him. He couldn't really say she was friendly though, either.

Maybe getting to know her better would change his opinion, but right now she was simply 'nice.'

Jaune took another step forward, but found himself being pulled back by a hand grabbing the back of his collar. The boy gasped as he was spun around, closing his eyes in response to the rough handling.

The boy was slammed up against the wall hard. Eyes squeezed shut, the blond took a breath, slowly opening his eyes to identify the aggressor.

"What the _hell_ are you doing here?!" The girl asked furiously.

Jaune sighed. Yeah, she was pissed.

"Hey sis..."


	3. Full Moon

**Hey everybody, how are you? Not much to say about this chapter, aside from that it exists and I'm happy to get it up here. I haven't had much time to write with renovating my room and such. Honestly, this could have been done a while ago.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Beta: Knight of Cerberus_

 _"Plans are useless. Planning is invaluable."_

* * *

Blake's eyes twitched back and forth as she watched a man likely twice her age zip back and forth across the room, about five times faster than she believed possible for anyone to move. The man stopped dead, the girl certain his neck should have snapped from the momentum, except it didn't.

The girl blinked, and the Beacon professor disappeared from her sight once more. Blake sighed, looking down at her notebook. It was completely blank. It wasn't that he was too fast to keep up with; she just couldn't spare a second to write when he was just so active.

Blake snapped her head back up, Doctor Oobleck – _not Professor, but Doctor_ – back standing behind his desk. The instructor spoke so fast she actually had to focus, or else all she'd probably pick up would be a word here or there.

The man slammed his pointer into the board behind him, pointing at Vale on the map pinned to it. Blake shook her head again, as she tried to focus on the slew of words coming out of the man's mouth.

There was a hefty sigh from next to her, and Blake's attention turned from the front of the class to her partner.

The blond boy who was also the leader of their team didn't look too well, resting his head atop his crossed arms, using them as a chin-rest. He'd been sweating and awfully pale when he'd come back from his trip to the bathroom. Perhaps he wasn't feeling well?

Blake thought about asking the boy if he was okay, then abandoned the idea when he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

It looked like he at least had it under control. It was a little respectable in that sense, that he didn't want to miss a lecture over his sudden illness – even if he didn't take anything away from it.

"I guess I deserve this…" Jaune muttered, barely audible.

Blake cringed in solidarity. Must have been something he ate, considering he'd been fine just beforehand. She tried to recall what it was so she could avoid it herself if it was served again for dinner, but she couldn't picture what he had on his tray in her head.

"…And you can clearly see here, how the natural defenses of the Valean Valley also make it rather ideal for agricultural growth. Irrigation systems were easy to implement, and farmers could grow their crops in relative safety..."

Blake turned her head back to their instructor, but occasionally glanced towards the blond next to her. She had to give the boy credit: However ill he was, the only real sounds he made were repeatedly stressed sighs.

As the lecture went on, Jaune seemed to get more and more agitated, and Blake couldn't help but pity him. She considered raising her hand and asking for permission to take him to the infirmary, but she didn't know if that was a good idea.

She didn't know the boy well enough yet. Would he be mad that she called him out, and got him out of the lecture when he was trying so desperately to hide that something was wrong? Was he too nervous to say something himself?

Her leader glanced over, out of the corner of his eye. He tilted his head slightly, acknowledging her with a confused look.

"Is something wrong?" he whispered, his words coming out with just the slightest tinge of nervousness, "You're staring."

Blake shook her head briskly, annoyed she'd been so distracted. "No, it's nothing."

 _He's trying to hide it from me…_

Had he been feeling ill the other day too? Blake had thought the blond had been acting rather strangely, like he was hiding something. Had he been putting up a tough front because he'd been under the weather, and she was just noticing it now?

The girl brushed a stray strand of hair out of her eyes. He'd been picked as leader of their team over herself, Pyrrha Nikos, and that Ren guy. Had one of the professors who'd been monitoring them notice what he'd been doing, and that's why he was chosen for the position?

While everyone else had simply performed at their best, he'd acted normal when he was at his worst. And if he was sick yesterday, all the way through to the present, that meant he fought the Boarbatusk under the same conditions.

Blake hummed, turning back to Doctor Oobleck's lecture. It was admirable.

 _If I were in his situation, what would I appreciate the most_? _He's obviously sick, but he doesn't want anyone to know…_

Would the best thing to just ignore it? To act as if there was nothing wrong?

After taking a brief moment to consider it, Blake nodded to herself.

Yeah, that would be best. Just ignore it.

She could do that.

* * *

The boy took in a shuddering breath as he put one foot in front of the other, walking down the hall. He looked to his partner, the girl walking alongside him, matching his stride.

Goodness, how he wished she'd say something. _Anything_ , to get his mind off of what he'd just experienced before class.

He rubbed at his jaw, which his sister had gripped tight as she stared into his eyes, stressing each word as she spoke to him. It was like he could still feel her grasp, her fingernails resting lightly atop his skin, though they felt like claws ready to rip and tear at any moment.

 _"_ _Eight o'clock, the dorm roof. I'll see you there."_

The boy clenched both his hands into fists and let out a long sigh. He really hoped he didn't seem too nervous or anything. He wanted Blake to talk, not ask questions; even though he already knew how hard it was to get her to do either.

"So, sparring class next?" Jaune asked, hoping the girl would answer that at the least.

"That's right."

Blake showed no signs of continuing on her statement, so Jaune just grit his teeth and let out a grunt to acknowledge that he'd heard her. He looked down at the map, and plotted out their path to the locker rooms. They'd have to get their weapons.

There was something else he had to worry about too, in that case. Was there anything special about sparring that he should know? Some kind of, like, code? He'd only really sparred with his sister, once or twice and those times were rare enough already, nor did they resemble anything official.

Jaune raised his head as he realized there was something he could have Blake distract him with. "Hey, if you don't mind…"

The girl turned towards them as they walked, a questioning expression on her face.

"How do you fight?"

"…what?"

Jaune was confused by the response, before he realized his question wasn't quite what he meant to ask. "I mean, how do you fight? I'm not saying you did nothing in initiation but like I didn't see you do anything, you know?"

The girl seemed to ponder that for a second, her lips drawn tight as she thought of a response. "I suppose you didn't, no. It's... hard to explain how I fight."

Jaune hummed. "Yeah, I suppose it would be. Thinking about it, I would have had a hard time answering that if you'd asked me too."

Less so because it was hard to explain, and more so that he couldn't explain it in a way that sounded good.

"That reminds me," Blake started, surprising the blond, "what was that thing you did with your sword earlier? With the Boarbatusk."

 _The what? Oh._ Jaune opened his mouth to respond, but hesitated for a moment as he didn't exactly know how to explain that either. He could explain it away as something his sister taught him, but then that would beg the question how his sister knew – which in turn would lead Blake to his sister.

And that could be bad, depending on his meeting tonight. Hell, he could be out of Beacon in a couple days anyways.

With that in mind, he supposed it didn't matter.

"It's a... type of Aura manipulation – you know what that is?" Blake nodded. "I mostly use it to make dull things sharp, because that's what I'm good at."

"From what I saw, it looked like more than that." The girl said. "The sheath of your sword is just blunt metal, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Jaune responded, not sure what she was trying to say.

"So you're giving an edge to something that otherwise has no edge." With the way she said it, it sounded like she knew what he'd done better than he did. "Why not just use it on your sword itself instead?"

 _Shit_. "I, uhh... The sheath gives a heavier strike." The blond turned away, embarrassed by the flimsy excuse he gave his partner.

 _Yeah right, she would never buy that._

"That makes sense, actually."

… _you're kidding._

"The extra weight behind the strike is probably what gave you the power to cut through the tusks. I see…"

Jaune just smiled awkwardly to himself as the girl seemed to think about that. There was no way he was going to be able to change his excuse now.

 _I probably should have just told her the truth._

"Still, it looked a little awkward, you having to sheath your blade like that in the middle of a fight…"

The girl trailed off, and after another couple seconds of silence, Jaune turned back towards her, only she was a few steps behind, having stopped mid-stride. "Blake?"

The girl looked up to him, her eyes glowing dangerously before she blinked, adopting a more natural expression. "Yes?"

"Are you okay?"

The girl blinked again, before she walked forward, then past Jaune. "Yeah, I'm fine. Was just thinking about something."

Jaune frowned as he moved to keep up. Blake showed no sign of wanting to continue the talk, and, oddly, that was fine with him. He needed to think, but at the same time, he didn't want to. He'd spend nearly the entire class before just _thinking_.

He didn't know what he could do, what he had to do, or what he wanted to do. It was pretty simple, really.

His sister hadn't said anything to the faculty, which Jaune was thankful for. But when had she found out?

Jaune sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. Of course. When else? Their damn teams were announced to the entire student population of Beacon. He hadn't realized because he'd just been so caught up in the moment. He'd thought it worked. He'd thought he'd made it in, no complications.

He didn't think that, even for a moment, she would have obviously known he'd snuck in.

Looking back on it, it was the thing he'd been the least concerned about. He'd been more worried about sticking out to the professors and his fellow first-years.

And now, his sister wanted to speak to him, on the dorm roof, late in the evening. Alone. He could only imagine the earful she'd give him before she dragged him to whoever she had to report him to. He turned to Blake, the girl with a far-off look on her face.

 _Well, it had been fun._

The boy pushed his way into the locker room, Blake following in behind quietly. As the boy wove between the lockers, he noticed that Blake was still following him. He slowed to a stop, the girl stopping with him.

"Don't you have to get your things from your locker?" he asked.

The girl looked up at him. "Sorry, what?"

"Your locker. Don't you need your weapon?"

Blake blinked, looking around her. "Right. Uh, I'll see you again in class."

With that said, the girl took off in the direction from which they came. She walked slowly, Jaune noticed, her mind clearly elsewhere.

The boy hummed as he turned in the direction of his own locker. It didn't take very long to make his way there to get his own weapon, clipping it to his belt.

After closing his locker, Jaune gripped the sheath with his left hand and tugged. The entirety of Crocea Mors in his hand, he repeated the process of clipping it on and off. It was an awkward motion, a slight tug on his belt before the sheath came free.

His father had always worn it on his belt, but for some reason, having the sword at his side felt wrong.

It was probably the easiest place to keep it. He couldn't really have it over his shoulder, or retrieving the sheath could be an issue. Across his lower back was out too. If he was going to be using the Aura technique his sister taught him, he was going to have to be able to retrieve his sheath as quickly as possible. Having to tug on it multiple times to free it wasn't going to suffice.

Jaune blinked as he held the sheath to his side, resting where it would normally be clipped, except the boy didn't attach it. Would that work?

The boy scowled as he just clipped the sheath on. It wasn't really the time to reconsider such a thing. It wouldn't be his sword for much longer, anyways.

It'd be his father's again, once he found out.

He grinned darkly to himself. _Maybe that's why_ …

The sword never was his. That was why it rejected him. Why he couldn't coat it with his Aura.

But then, why did the sheath work?

Jaune turned, with the blade at his side, and felt his shoulder bump into something.

"Eek!" The blond shrieked, jumping away in surprise. His eyes settled on a mass of orange hair, and he tried to calm himself, breathing both heavily and rapidly. "How long were you standing there?"

The girl put a finger to her lips in thought, even as her other hand balanced a hammer taller than she was over her shoulder. "Hmm… I think around the time you started playing with your sword." The girl paused for a second. "That didn't sound right, did it?"

Jaune looked up to her, tilting his head. "It sounded fine to me." The boy straightened his legs out, standing tall. "Nora, right?"

"I'm nobody else." The girl answered convolutedly, smiling. "How's Ren?"

The boy blinked, caught off guard by the sudden question. "Ren's uhh… fine?"

"That's good. He has a tough time on his own. He's always had me around, so it's probably kinda hard for him to fathom the two of us being apart, so I just wanted to make sure things were going well with him. He's probably going to come off as a little moody, but he's a real sweetheart on the inside."

Jaune just stared at the girl. "Okay."

Nora just continued to smile happily, leaning forward as her teeth glinted in the light. "If you make him sad, I'll break your legs."

Jaune stood up even straighter at that, the cheerful smile seeming infinite times more malicious than it had been before. " _Okay_."

"Perfect!" the girl exclaimed happily. "That's all I wanted to say. See you later!"

"Right…" the blond breathed, a bead of cold sweat rolling down his forehead as the girl skipped away, the large hammer she carried slung over her shoulder.

 _Beacon was a bad idea. Like, a really, really bad idea._

* * *

Ren blinked once, then twice, his eyes watching the slender form of his teammate, Blake, as she dashed back and forth across the arena floor. She wasn't nearly as fast as that girl earlier – Ruby, if he remembered correctly – but he had a feel for what she was doing.

Her opponent, a boy named Dove, turned to face her head on every time she moved. To anyone else, it would have seemed like Blake was wasting her energy, while the boy who'd been standing still had been conserving his own. It would look like Dove was the one playing it smart.

But after a while, Ren was starting to see a pattern. He was sure the black haired girl saw it as well.

"She'll make her move soon. Before he does."

Ren looked over at his partner, the girl's red hair in a high ponytail, dressed in the bronze armor and leather outfit she'd worn when they'd first met during initiation. It seemed Pyrrha had noticed it as well.

"You don't think it's bait?" Ren asked. That had been the first thing to run through his mind: the boy was setting a rather elaborate trap, in exaggerating his movements so much. In leaving such wide openings.

"No." she responded. "If it was, it would be a little less obvious. This is almost like he doesn't even notice he's leaving his entire left side open."

Ren nodded.

"…I have no idea what the two of you are talking about."

Ren – and Pyrrha – turned towards the blond boy who was seated on the opposite side of Blake's vacant spot, the furthest from Ren. He seemed genuinely confused by what was occurring on the arena floor.

Pyrrha shuffled in her seat. "You don't see the openings he's leaving?"

Ren turned back to the match, seeing Blake squeeze a couple of shots off at Dove, who managed to dodge one and deflect the other with his sword. The girl's handgun didn't seem all that powerful, he noted.

"No, all I really see is Blake tiring herself out when she could have beaten him down already."

Ren hummed. Sure, it certainly looked like that when he thought about it, but he himself would err more on the side of caution in the same situation. An unfamiliar opponent, who may or may not be luring him into a trap… it would be better to wait for the best opportunity.

Blake dashed to her left, but when her feet hit the ground, she moved forward, firing a shot towards her opponent.

"Finally…" Jaune sighed.

The girl closed the distance quickly, Dove already moving to the side to dodge the bullet she shot at him. The moment the boy's feet touched the ground, he tried to backpedal, but Blake was already on top of him, swinging her more slender blade towards his head.

"He lost." Jaune stated.

Ren blinked in confusion. First, his team's leader hadn't been able to pick out what was the most obvious of weaknesses, and then he called the match before the blow even landed?

…in the blond's defence, however, the match was indeed over. In the amount of time Ren was able to word an answer to the Jaune, Blake had summarily disarmed, threw, mounted, and put the edge of her blade to Dove's throat, the boy letting out a meek "I surrender".

"Yeah." With how quickly that had ended, all things considered, Jaune might have been right about just rushing the boy right from the start. He put up very little resistance.

"Gee, that really didn't take long, huh." The blonde a row beneath Ren noted. What was her name… Yang? Whoever she was, she was a member or Nora's team…

Speaking of Nora… Ren turned her eyes to her, sitting next to Yang – so right in front of himself. She'd been quiet. Oddly, unusually, _forebodingly_ quiet. The boy knew she was thinking. Hard.

But about what? And, perhaps a better question, why? Nora was straightforward, and followed her heart and instinct like a ravenous beast followed a piece of meat. That she was giving something serious thought wasn't necessarily strange, but certainly rare. At least, he thought. Even after all their time together, he knew her better than anyone, and she still surprised him.

"For our next match..." Professor Goodwitch began, silencing and getting the attention of all the students in the hall. The blonde professor Ren remembered from the first day stood to the side of the arena, the woman having explained that today was to strictly be an exhibition of the student's abilities against each other, so she had a baseline to work with in evaluating them. They were to fight as they would normally, returning to their seats after, but she ensured that after future fights, she'd be giving detailed analysis of their matches. Including feedback with which to improve themselves.

"Can I get Nora Valkyrie and Jaune Arc to the floor please?"

Ren let out an interested grunt. A fight between his leader and Nora. He looked between the two of them – Nora hopping to her feet while Jaune stood abruptly – and started imagining how a match between the two would play out.

The boy didn't doubt Nora's ability to win. In fact, he was fairly certain there wasn't anyone among the first years who could take her on when she was serious. That could have just been his bias, though. Jaune, on the other hand... Ren sneaked a look to the boy as he made his way to the stairwell, an arm resting between his sword and his side, where the sheath was slipped through his belt. Blake, who was coming up the stairs, offered him a smile of support, though Ren couldn't see the boy's own expression.

He'd proven he was somewhat skilled, in taking down the Boarbatusk Professor Port had let loose in their morning class. Cutting through one of their tusks – nevermind both – was an impressive feat. Ren had to wonder what else he could do, considering that was all he knew the blond could do.

"I'm worried." Blake stated casually as she sat in the seat beside Pyrrha.

Ren tilted his head. Worried about the match, he assumed. That made Ren think.

"Why?" He inquired, leaning forward to look past the redhead between them.

Blake blinked in response, her uncertainty somewhat clear on her face. "Jaune..." The girl paused to gather her thoughts. "...earlier today, before our class with Professor Oobleck, he went to the bathroom. He didn't look so great when he came back."

"He's ill?" Pyrrha practically demanded an answer. "Should we say something?"

The black haired girl shook her head quickly. "No, I don't think we should say anything." Blake turned out to the arena floor, where Jaune moved towards the starting area. "It seemed like he was trying to hide it. I'm sure it was because he wanted to stay for the lecture... not that he was really able to pay attention to it. He seemed really distracted."

"Really?" Ren wondered aloud, looking at the blond on the floor below. Even from where they were sitting in the upper viewing area, he could see the truth in Blake's statement. Jaune did look uneasy.

Ren turned his head slightly. It could have also been the size of Nora's hammer that caused that reaction. Hard to say, really.

"Now that I think about it..." Ren spoke up, Blake and Pyrrha turning towards him. "Didn't he seem a little apprehensive about fighting the Boarbatusk earlier as well?"

"He did." Pyrrha confirmed.

"I'd figured that had been because he hadn't fought a Boarbatusk before." Blake said, before she shrugged. "Honestly, he might even have been sick yesterday too. I mean, I don't know him, but it seems like he's hiding it."

Humming, Ren brought a hand to his chin in thought. As Goodwitch repeated the same instructions regarding the match as she had for the previous bouts, he thought back to meeting Jaune in the cafeteria with Nora.

He had seemed fine then.

"Why would he hide it?" Ren pondered aloud, not getting an answer. The girls were probably wondering the same thing.

Jaune drew his sword and said something to Goodwitch; probably declaring that he was ready. Nora held her hammer Magnhild tightly, nodding when the professor turned towards her.

It seemed the match was about to-

"Begin!"

Nora dashed forwards, the heavy head of her hammer held behind her as she crossed the distance between her and Jaune. Ren frowned. Nora would have noticed Jaune had no ranged weaponry. Why not force him to close the distance with her instead, keeping him at a distance with her grenades?

Unless...

Nora swung Magnhild low, forcing Jaune to step back. The boy held his sword with both hands, the point towards Nora. Jaune having dodged the first swing, Nora spun, twirling the long haft of her hammer.

Ren sighed. He couldn't be one-hundred percent sure, but it looked to him like Nora was trying to show off.

Not that she wasn't trying, oh no. If anything, she was trying harder: her swings were quick and precise, and she tried to go for the isolated limbs rather than just swinging for the center of mass like she usually would when she felt like sending Grimm – or people, Ren supposed – flying.

Jaune was retreating – what Ren would probably do in his situation. The blond ducked below a horizontal swing that was a little too high, and quickly dashed past Nora, not retaliating. He probably realized he was getting too close to the arena's edge.

Nora pressed her attack, seeming to swing recklessly, though she wasn't; like he, Jaune, and Pyrrha had discussed earlier, she was leaving openings on purpose. Baiting Jaune.

Nora preferred to simply overpower her opponents. It was what she was good at. But that didn't mean she couldn't fight smart when she wanted to. Had she maybe overheard their earlier conversation?

Had that been what she'd been thinking so deeply about?

Ren's childhood friend swung Magnhild around from the left. Jaune didn't move in on the open side as the massive head passed. Nora pulled Magnhild back down. Jaune didn't take the opportunity.

Right in the seat next to him, Ren heard the sound of flesh smacking against flesh, and took his eyes off the fight for a brief moment. Pyrrha sat, with her hands covering her face.

"We're stupid." She stated with a sigh. Ren turned his eyes back to the match, though he gave her a questioning hum.

"We both thought he was just completely oblivious to the openings Dove was leaving in the last match, and how you weren't reacting to them as they were bait." The redheaded girl said the last part to Blake specifically.

"But..." She continued. "He'd when he'd fought the Boarbatusk in Port's class, he-"

In that moment, Ren came to the same conclusion Pyrrha just had: "He waited for an opening... and the openings that were too obvious he didn't pursue. He fought the Boarbatusk as if it were a person. As if it were trying to trick him."

Jaune treated everything he fought as if it were as intelligent as him – if not more.

Ren crossed his arms, leaning forward in his seat.

The match below just got even more interesting.

* * *

 _I'm so screwed. I'm screwed. I'm s-c-r-e-w-e-d._

Jaune backed away, the force of the wind put off by the massive hammer's head blowing his bangs back into view. Nora took a moment to recover, and Jaune moved even further back, pushing his hair back to the side. How the hell was he supposed to get close enough to hit her when she was swinging that _thing_ around?

 _Not again_!

Jaune stepped to the side as the shorter girl swung the hammer down at an angle. It impacted the arena floor with such force, he could swear it cracked. He winced reactively as he imagined what it would feel like to get hit by that.

Hell, it hurt more than enough when he'd been building that bird house and hit his thumb by accident. That hammer was probably fifty times smaller than the one swinging for his head, too, and he wasn't nearly as strong as the girl swinging it.

Well, so far his strategy of not getting hit was working, but there was nothing he could really do.

Nora swung her hammer viciously, and Jaune took a step back. He couldn't look towards the professor, because then he'd certainly get hit. He considered surrendering, but killed that line of thought instantly.

' _You're not getting any mercy from me, understand_.'

The memory from his training disturbed the flow, and he tried to backstep again as Nora swung low. The boy stepped on his own foot, and stumbled back. He afforded a glance towards his feet, and Nora fell upon him with her hammer raised high.

Jaune had to force himself from closing his eyes as the heavy metal came down. He brought his sword up in an effort to do... _anything._

The boy locked every one of his joints, but bent his knees. He winced at the shrill screech of the hammer rubbing up against his sword as it feel, finally reaching the cross-guard of the blade.

Even with Aura, the strike hurt. His arms, his shoulders, his wrists, his back. Everything hurt.

He looked up, the massive weight coming down on the cross-guard. His arms strained against it, but it didn't continue.

 _I stopped it_.

Everything felt numb, and he let out a gasp as he pushed back meekly. He extended his legs, straining against the weight.

 _Now what_?

The head of the hammer seemed to explode with concussive force, and Jaune closed his eyes reflexively, his sword knocked out of his hands. For a brief second he couldn't hear, his ears popping and the air pressure from the explosion pushing down on him.

Momentarily blinded and deaf, Jaune stepped forward. He blinked his eyes open, his vision swimming. Finally not being concerned with the weight of the hammer's head about to crash down on him, he saw his opponent's face as he blinked away tears.

The girl looked genuinely surprised, but her expression quickly changed: Nora's face morphed into a look of intense concentration. Her eyes met his, and Jaune wasn't sure what he'd saw in them – though he'd seen those same eyes before.

They were the eyes of someone focused purely on the fight before them. And they brought Jaune back to the moment.

His arms high above him as they'd pushed back against Nora's downward strike before he was disarmed, he couldn't spare even a second to consider his options. It was the best opportunity he had, and he was already stepping forward.

Jaune just did what felt right.

He turned his body as he continued forward, driving his shoulder into Nora's chest. He took another step, pushing against the girl until she took a step back to steady herself. He pushed off her when she did, and she brought the haft of her hammer around to separate them.

Jaune didn't think. He grabbed for the hammer's haft, managing to push back against it with both hands. With his hand around its width, he tugged, and pulled Nora towards him. The girl struggled, but his split-second decision gave him the upper hand. Though his balance was precarious, he pulled one leg up as high as he could, and kicked. Nora stumbled backwards, while the weapon he held was uncomfortably heavy in his hands. Now she was disarmed, while he had a...

He looked down at the thing in his hands. "It's a grenade launcher?" He asked himself aloud.

There was a feminine roar from in front of him and he looked up to see Nora sprinting at him. The boy turned the grenade launcher in his hands to fire at Nora.

Only to find he was holding it backwards.

Nora jumped when she got close and fell backwards, her feet in front of her. Jaune stared at her in despair, and saw something peculiar: a black, white and red print of what looked like the cutest bear-Grimm he'd ever seen, before the girl's two feet planted straight in his face.

Jaune coughed as he hit the ground, staring up above his head smacked against the floor. Before he could push himself up, Nora was above him, her weapon in its hammer form. She put the weight against his armored chest, and simply pushed down. He was effectively pinned to the ground.

The blond boy couldn't help but glance up her fluttering skirt. No, he had not imagined that at all.

Nora gasped. "Where do you think you're looking?!"

Jaune quickly turned his head to the side, face beet-red. Nora didn't seem to accept that as an answer, and removed her hammer for a moment, before pressing its weight against the side of his face, pushing it into the ground.

"I shurrender!" Jaune called out as best he could with the great hammer grinding his jaw into the ground.

"The match is over." Jaune heard. "Miss Valkyrie..."

"What?"

"You can remove your hammer from Mr. Arc's head now."

"Oh! Right!" The pressure was gone, so Jaune sat up, rubbing at his jaw. He looked over to where Nora was standing, to see her fold up the hammer into its other form, before putting it on her back. The girl herself was blushing, giving him the stink-eye, and being extra careful in making sure her skirt did not move all at once.

"Well fought. The two of you can return to your seats."

Jaune pushed himself up to his feet as Nora began to walk towards the stairs. She didn't give him a second glance. First, their meeting in the locker room, and now this? The boy jogged to catch up, and the girl stopped before she began her ascent.

She turned and glared at him. "You go first."

The blond tilted his head at Nora's offer. Wasn't it polite or something to let ladies go first? "No, it's fine. You can go first."

Not a second later, the girl's blush returned as she grit her teeth, and Jaune realized his folly. "On second thought, I'll go first!" Jaune offered in a hurry, stepping past the girl. Nora's eyes followed him the whole way.

Jaune reached the top of the stairs, and looked back down at the girl. She was still staring at him, and she waited for him to move. He kept his sigh to himself, and instead walked towards his team, feeling her boring holes in the back of his skull with her stare.

The blond grimaced. Did his team notice? He could already picture Blake and Pyrrha's faces, twisted in disgust, while Ren looked down his nose at him, sneering.

Jaune blinked when all he was met with were light smiles and reassuring nods. He even got a pat on the back from Pyrrha as he sat.

 _I guess they didn't notice_. Jaune let out the breath he hadn't known he'd been holding as he leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes.

"That was an interesting match." Pyrrha mentioned. "You reacted quickly when you were disarmed."

Jaune just nodded slightly to show he acknowledged her comment. Despite how relaxed he felt in his seat, he felt a chill.

The boy opened his eyes again, and looked over to where Nora had been sitting. The girl continued to stare at him. Jaune closed his eyes again.

 _Crap_.

* * *

Pyrrha let out a long groan as she arched her back, throwing out her chest as she stretched. Releasing a content sigh, the girl fell back into her bed, relaxing among the sheets. "Wasn't bad for a first day, was it?"

She didn't ask the question of anyone in particular, mostly just putting it out there. Her partner Ren was in the shower, so the only people who could answer were Jaune and Blake. When silence was all that resounded, the redhead propped herself up on her elbows.

Jaune was sitting on the edge of the windowsill, staring off into the distance as far as Pyrrha could tell. If he really was ill, as Blake suggested he might be, the cool, fresh air might be good for him. He must have been thinking of something as well, as he had a rather deep look on his face.

Past Jaune, laying back on her bed, was Blake. The girl was already in her yukata, as everyone had pretty much agreed they weren't planning on doing anything after they came back from their dinner. She seemed invested in a book she was reading.

Both her and Jaune radiated the feeling of wanting to be left alone, regardless, so Pyrrha didn't feel like repeating her earlier question. The girl drew her lips tight as she fished into her pocket, pulling out the coin she'd picked up during initiation.

She looked at it closer. It must have been old, as Pyrrha couldn't remember seeing any kind of metal currency before in her life. She'd heard of coins though, at least. From what she could remember there had been two different kinds: cheap metal rounds that simulated wealth, and actual precious metals in the shape of coins. The latter were now worth quite the amount to collectors, while the former were simply replaced by Lien cards and forgotten.

The piece she held in her hand had few markings, so a part of her half-hoped it was one of those rarities. But it could have also been just a simple coin, its silvery face long since worn.

She flicked it into the air with her thumb, catching it. It was tails. The girl looked to the bathroom door, feeling slightly guilty about what she'd done to her partner before. She flipped the coin again, only this time she reached out with her Aura, feeling it as it fell.

She grabbed it quickly. Tails.

As she waited patiently for Ren to get out of the shower so she could take her own, Pyrrha continued to flip the coin. It would seem miraculous to anyone but herself that she managed to get tails thirty six times in a row, before she made a mistake and accidentally left it heads.

 _Well, you can't win them all_.

The girl grinned to herself at the thought, and then shot that down immediately. She looked at Blake and Jaune, the two of them distracting themselves.

Pyrrha floated the coin above her hand, spinning it in place. She frowned. When she'd fought that Ruby girl in class earlier, she'd come close on more than one occasion. It was actually impressive, forcing Pyrrha to use her semblance so much in a fight – even if all she did was manipulate the girl's scythe a little.

The annoyance had been clear enough to see on her opponent's face. The girl let her hair down as the coin continued to spin, picking up speed.

 _Is my semblance really cheating_?

The sound of a door opening startled Pyrrha, and she dropped the coin. It landed right in the palm of her hand, and she looked up at Ren, the boy wrapped in naught but a towel.

Ren didn't say anything as he entered the room. Had he seen? If he did, Pyrrha hoped that he'd only have seen the coin falling. Ren showed no indication of having caught her in the act however, simply meeting her eyes and nodding his head back in the direction of the bathroom.

Pyrrha called out a quiet "Thank you", and put the coin on her nightstand. She stood up shortly after, grabbing a fluffy cotton bathrobe and heading into the adjoined room.

The girl stepped in front of the mirror, wiping it down as the steam had left it foggy. She smiled at her reflection, before brushing her hair out a bit. Once she was satisfied, she turned on the shower, and stripped as it warmed back up.

Pyrrha looked at the drain and hummed. She turned back to the bathroom door, opening it just enough so that she could stick her head out. Ren looked at her curiously.

"I'm going to have a bath instead." Pyrrha mentioned. She looked over to Blake, who nodded – even though it could have just been her nodding along to something in her book.

Jaune didn't seem to hear her.

"I'll let him know, don't worry." Ren called out.

"Thanks." Pyrrha smiled, getting a nod and a smile in return.

Ren was nice. There was more to it than that, obviously, but if Pyrrha had to pick one word to describe him, that would be it. He was quiet, respectful, intelligent... A good partner. At least, as far as she could tell.

As Pyrrha closed the drain, she began to think more about the others, as well. Blake spent a lot of time in her books, but she'd proven to be a good conversationalist when the topic interested her. Thing being, Pyrrha didn't exactly know what kind of topics did interest the black haired girl. She supposed she could always talk about books – that particular topic being the one that Pyrrha knew Blake had an interest in – but not really being one for leisurely reading herself, Pyrrha didn't think that would last very long.

Maybe she could just ask her for recommendations or something then? Hopefully nothing too heavy.

Her team's leader, on the other hand... Pyrrha liked him. He seemed very genuine. Like, an all-around good guy. Much like with her other teammates, however, she only had a day and a half or so to go on. But from the day and a half she'd known Jaune, he certainly seemed okay.

For some reason, what Blake had said about him acting fine when he seemed ill stuck out in her head. She could understand the motivation, in a way, but it still seemed odd to her.

The champion dipped a foot in the hot water, turning off the tap. She climbed in the tub and slid into it until the water reached her chin. She let out a long breath, and leaned back against the lip of the tub.

 _Oh well._

* * *

Jaune glanced down at his scroll, taking note of the time. He sighed and scratched at the back of his neck, shivering as a stiff breeze hit him.

 _Well, I suppose it's time._

The boy grabbed his hoodie off his bedpost, and pulled it over his head, Pumpkin Pete proudly displayed on the front. Just looking down at the cereal mascot brought to mind the image of a cute looking Grimm emblazoned on a pair of white panties.

Jaune shook his head vehemently. _That_ was what he had to think of right now? No! It wasn't the time.

"Going somewhere?"

"Uh..." Jaune turned to Ren, actually forgetting he hadn't been alone in the room. The other male member of his team was seated cross-legged on his bed, dressed in his pajamas. "Yeah, going to head out for a walk. Clear my head."

"Fine by me." Ren nodded. Jaune slipped into his shoes and made his way over to the door.

Shit, would he even come back to this room?

The blond looked over to Ren, the boy's eyes closed. What was he doing? Jaune turned to Blake next, the girl still reading. As she usually did.

If he was leaving – for good – should he say something?

 _Nah, screw it_.

"Oh, Jaune?" Ren called out as the he opened the door. The blond turned back to his teammate, the boy still sitting there with his eyes closed. "If you're not feeling better, you should probably head to the infirmary and get some medicine."

The blond scrunched his face in confusion. "Okay...?"

Ren nodded, and Jaune exited the room, closing the door behind him.

 _That was weird. So... the rooftop, then_.

Jaune stood at the bottom of the stairs headed to the upper floors. The blond's feet were heavy, and he looked to the set of stairs headed to the ground floor instead. Maybe he should go for that walk instead? He sighed, clenching his hands into fists. No, this wasn't something he could avoid. He took the first step up the stairs, and then the next.

It felt like he was climbing up the execution platform.

Realistically, he knew the absolute worst that could happen: She would report him, no questions asked. But, if she'd wanted to do that, she could have done it already.

The alternative? Blackmail. It wasn't something he'd considered at first, but it was a very real possibility. She'd hold it over him, and have him do whatever she wanted.

Was his sister the type to resort to blackmail? Hell no, there's no way on the three continents that she'd do that. But there was a chance; he hadn't seen her for a year, after all. Who knew how she could have changed.

Finally, after what honestly felt like the thousandth step, he was at the rooftop access. He took a deep breath in through his nose. Trying to calm himself.

He pushed the push bar, and the door unlatched. Jaune swung it open, careful not to make a sound.

There she stood, her silhouette framed by the full moon – there was no way she _hadn't_ planned that. Even if he hadn't been expecting to meet her here on the roof, the moment he saw her, he'd know it was her. Jaune stepped out on the roof.

His sister stood there with her arms crossed defiantly, her head tilted forward so her bangs covered her eyes. She didn't say anything as Jaune approached.

The boy felt nervous. Hell, he almost felt naked as he walked across the roof. A breeze whipped its way past him, and he shivered. His sister stood there, either unaffected or uncaring.

She looked up at him. "So... you've come..."

Jaune swallowed the lump in his throat. "Hey sis..."

It had been weird seeing her in Beacon's uniform, back in the hall, but whatever the hell she was wearing now... it suited her. "Did you miss me?"

The question came as quite the surprise to Jaune. "Couldn't you have just asked me back in the hallway, when you ambushed me?"

She snorted in amusement, before she stepped forward. "Oh, come on, that was kind of fun, right?"

Jaune almost reflexively took a step back, but stood his ground as she approached him. "Fun?"

The blond didn't get an answer. His sister didn't speak again until she was just a couple feet before him.

She snickered. "I'm still taller than you."

Jaune could almost feel the tension leave his body as she said that, looking down into her eyes.

"Your ears don't count."

The girl took two quick steps forward, and in a surprising move, wrapped her arms around him.

"I've missed you."

Jaune smiled. "I've missed you too Velv."


	4. Judgement

**Hello everyone, and welcome to the fourth installment of CFtSC. I'm sitting here, trying to come up with a note, but nothing's really coming to mind. Oh well, I suppose the story can speak for itself. I also pumped this one out pretty quickly. Relatively quickly, that is. I only actually started on this a couple days before release, having been distracted with other matters.**

 **Regardless, it should be the quality you deserve. Enjoy!**

 **P.S.: Knight's kinda a dick.**

* * *

 _Beta: Knight of Cerberus_

 _"It takes dedication to blow a 3-0 lead in as many minutes."_

* * *

 _The girl's eyes widened in a mix of confusion and disbelief. "Sis?"_

 _The young boy smiled, blushing just a little. "Yep... Is it okay for me to call you sis?"_

 _She blinked rapidly in response. "Jaune, you already have six sisters-"_

" _You're more of a sister to me than any of them! All they do is paint their nails, and talk about cute boys." He sputtered, the words sour on his tongue, even as his friend and mentor giggled. "You listen to me when I say I want to fight, that I want to be somebody."_

" _Of course I do." The girl responded. "But your sisters are your family. I... can't replace them."_

 _Jaune took the girl's hand in both of his, looking up at her face. "You don't have to replace them! You'll just be my seventh sister!" He declared_

 _She was his sister, and he wasn't taking no for an answer._

" _Well," the girl leaned forwards, pinching his cheek the way she knew he hated it with a smile, "I suppose I can't say no to such a cute younger brother."_

" _Hey! Let go!" Jaune squealed in protest, throwing her other hand to the side. "I'm not that much younger than you!"_

" _You're not, but who's always been the one looking out for you, hey?"_

" _It's been you..." Jaune confirmed, looking to the girl's feet. "I'll miss you when you're gone."_

 _Jaune's honorary older sister scoffed. "Don't worry, Vale isn't that far from here – nor is Patch. I'll be coming back to see my mother on the holidays, so I'll be sure to check in then. You, on the other hand, need to make sure you keep going to your classes."_

" _But school is boring." Jaune protested. "If I don't make it into Signal, I promise you I won't stop trying."_

" _No... You're going to promise me you won't stop going to primary school if you can't make it."_

" _But I-"_

" _But nothing." Her glare cut off any further protest. "What I've taught you isn't enough to get you into Signal - it's nowhere near enough to get you into Beacon. If you can't make it into Signal... If you can't get formal training from anyone, you'll need to be educated."_

 _That was just a gentler way of telling him to give up. Jaune nodded firmly, though he didn't mean it._

" _Good. Now, let's get you home. Your father is probably worried sick."_

 _Jaune nodded again, honestly this time._

* * *

The blond pulled back out of Velvet's hug, smiling down at her eyes as his hands lingered on her shoulders for a moment. It was beyond good to see her again, that was for sure, though he felt a pang of guilt at seeing her happy smile, and expectant eyes.

That guilt gave way to fear as her eyes hardened and her smile dimmed.

"So. What are you doing here?" Velvet asked casually, though the question hit him like a cinder block from thirty thousand feet.

"I..." Jaune looked aside. All the excuses he had, all the lies he could come up with... he looked into her eyes and her steely expression, and sighed. He'd consider her feelings first and foremost:

"I can't tell you."

The rabbit faunus – his childhood friend and self-proclaimed big sister – tilted her head in annoyance, adjusting her stance, becoming more defiant. "What do you mean you can't tell me?"

Jaune pressed his lips together, before taking a deep breath and sighing again. This was going to be hard to say. "If I told you-" He hesitated. "I just... I _can't_ tell you."

"Why not?" The question was just as firm as her stance. He knew that wouldn't have satisfied her. "Why the hell not, Jaune?"

"Because if you knew and didn't say anything, it could get you expelled!" The boy hissed out quietly, the pressure getting to him. He could see her shocked reaction, and he wasn't even done. "And if you _do_ say something, it probably lands _me_ in prison!"

Velvet stood there for a moment, shell-shocked.

"What did you _do_?" She rattled off. There was one thing evident in her voice – one thing Jaune hadn't wanted to hear. It was something akin to fear, but not like it.

It was concern.

"I did..." Jaune shook his head rapidly, disturbing his blond locks. "I did something, Velv'. I don't want to say it – I've said too much already." Just telling her this much was risky. They'd no doubt go to her if he was found out. Ask questions.

He rubbed his temples, sighing as he realized what he'd told her already had already effectively doomed her.

 _Here I go dragging people into things again_...

"Look, just forget I said anyth-" A sharp jerk of his collar pulled him back to reality, as Velvet shook him vigorously.

"Damn it, Jaune, _what did you do_?!"

 _And now I've made her cry_...

"H-hey, it's okay! It's okay!" He managed out, though the girl shook him with the force of a small, immature girl treating a doll roughly. "It's nothing to worry abou-"

"Like hell it is!" Velvet let out loudly, sniffling as she threw him back. Jaune stumbled, almost falling backwards in his surprise. "Talking about expulsion-no... _prison_?! Are you out of your damn mind?! Get a hold of yourself!"

"Get a hold of myself?" Jaune breathed out. He had to admit, that angered him a little. "Get a hold of yourself! I'm telling you I can't tell you, because I'm worried about you! Isn't that obvious?"

"Well, a fat load of good that's going to do when they come to me after they lock you behind bars, asking about you!"

"You'd say you don't know anyth-"

" _Tell me-_ " Velvet stomped forward, staring up into his eyes again. "So I'll know how to lie if I need to."

"I can't tell you. I just s-" What his older sister just stated aggressively clued in. "... _what_?"

The girl stepped back, looking down to her feet before she cast her eyes back up. "You're family, Jaune. I won't abandon family..." The words she left unspoken played out in his head as if she'd said them herself.

' _Not again_...'

Jaune nodded rapidly, stepping into the girl and hugging her closely. "Yeah, I understand." He brought up a hand to rub at the back of her head, holding her tightly against his chest for a moment as he spoke. "You really want to know?"

He felt her nod into his chest and sighed.

"I..." How did he put it? "...got my hands on some fake transcripts to apply for Beacon's entrance exam... then I cheated..." He pursed his lips together, not continuing.

"You... cheated?"

"I swapped my initial test results with somebody else when we were doing the written exams." Jaune still felt super guilty about that. "Turns out the guy, like, aced his test. So – even taking the physical portion of the test into effect – I wound up with a passing mark."

Velvet stepped back, out of his hug. "That's... a lot tamer than I thought things were. I mean, the first thought that ran through my head is that you killed someone or something."

"What? Really? Gods _no_ , I'm not that kind of person..." Jaune reassured.

"You could have killed someone, assumed their identity, scrubbed your own name from the records..."

Jaune turned his eyes skyward for but a moment as Velvet slowly began rambling, before stepping forward and snapping his fingers in front of the girl's face. She stood up straight, as if she'd been in a daze.

"Was I doing it again?" She asked innocently after a moment.

Jaune just sighed and nodded.

"Sorry."

Jaune repeated his sigh. "Look... I can't explain this all at once." The blond looked up, and rolled his eyes at Velvet's pout. "Okay, seriously, it's actually tiring me out. This is a lot to go through."

The rabbit faunus let out a huff, looking as if she was about to protest, before she nodded her agreement. "To be fair, I didn't exactly give my team the best excuse when I told them I needed to head out for a bit, so..."

Jaune blinked. "Your team?"

He hadn't been able to catch his poorly thought out blurb, and Velvet glared at him completely unimpressed.

"Yes. My team. A team that is mine." She explained sarcastically. She actually looked amused.

The blond sighed, waving it off. "Yeah, I know, I _know_. I've had a long day."

Velvet almost yawned in perfect time with his comment. "I'll introduce them to you. And you can introduce your team to me." Jaune thought he saw the girl freeze for a moment, but maybe that was just his tiredness kicking in. "It _is_ late; we should get back to our rooms."

The two of them stood there awkwardly for a moment or two longer, before Jaune turned to the side, clearing his throat. "Should we head down, then?"

"That would be a good idea, yes."

Jaune felt awkward about the whole situation. It felt... off? Velvet was being way too casual about this. No doubt there were things stewing in her head.

He should have been able to tell what she was thinking. When they'd spent time together before, he could read her like a book – a book with simple words and pictures. Now, though? It was like she was written in a different language.

She was willing to lie, in order to keep him safe? That wasn't what the old Velvet would do. The old Velvet would have told his mother when he came over after curfew to see her. She had nothing but the absolute respect for authority. It didn't matter that he was family that she wouldn't have wanted to lose.

She'd changed, in the past year. No, even longer. Since she'd left for Signal. But Jaune supposed that was natural. He'd only seen her once or twice, and chatted like old friends.

He didn't know her now.

The blond turned, headed back to the rooftop access, when he stopped. He turned back to the girl, Velvet having being moving to walk alongside him.

"Your contact info is still the same?" Jaune felt compelled to ask, ashamed that he actually hadn't messaged her at all in probably the past two months.

"Yeah. I considered just messaging you when I figured out you were here, but..." She blushed. "Sorry about being so physical."

Jaune let out a snort at that. Who was he kidding? She was still the same old Velv'.

"We can talk more tomorrow if you like." Jaune offered, before he bit off a yawn.

"Sure." Velvet nodded, smiling. "Go get some rest."

* * *

Jaune let out a low groan as he trudged back towards his dorm. After descending the stairs from the rooftop, and saying his farewell to Velvet on the floor her dorm was on, he was hit by a wave of fatigue. He'd managed to stay somewhat energized when he considered the fact that Velvet may have been the reason he'd have been put behind bars – though that was stupid, looking back – and now that the threat was gone, he just felt like a sack of beans.

He took in a deep breath, swiping his scroll across the lock, and pushing his way into his team's dorm. Everything was pretty well the way it was when he left. Ren was on his bed, and gave him a nod as he entered, before the blond turned to Blake. The girl met his eyes over the top the book she was reading, before returning to it.

"Enjoy your walk?" Ren asked casually. Jaune turned back to him and nodded, stretching his arms high above his head.

 _I gotta pee_.

"Yeah, I did." Jaune tacked on, looking towards the open window, where he'd been standing before he'd left. With a sigh, he made his way towards the bathroom, turning the handle and stepping inside.

"Jaune, wait!"

Ren's warning came too late, Jaune looking back at the boy from the door frame. He turned to look into the bathroom after seeing the boy's scared gaze, and his eyes widened.

There was a splash of water and the sound of a shower curtain being drawn quickly. His eyes didn't function properly for a second, having been burned out by the strain of seeing something he was sure he'd never forget. A blushing Pyrrha stuck her head out from the other side of the curtain, Jaune able to see the suds on her arm, a hand clutching the fabric that denied him a heavenly view he'd gotten just a glimpse of.

"C-could you, uh, _leave_?" The head of that wonderful body asked.

Jaune stood there in a daze for a moment longer, before he turned and walked out of the bathroom, pulling the door closed behind him. Before he forgot himself, he opened the door again – just a crack. "Sorry!" He hissed back inside with his eyes closed, shutting it immediately after.

Twin sighs resounded from the room behind him, one exasperated, and one a sense of defeat. Jaune turned. Ren just shook his head, looking disappointed. Blake's book was closed – something that was honestly quite threatening – and glared at him as if she could will his head to explode.

Jaune ducked his head down, and walked back to his bed. Able to feel Blake's stare as he moved, he shrunk inwards. When he finally sat, she seemed to relent.

"That was my fault." Ren stated simply. The blond looked up to the boy, not having expected an apology from him at all. "I was supposed to tell you that Pyrrha was in there. You seemed distant earlier, then you left for your walk. So I... neglected to tell you, and could not warn you in time."

The boy blinked at the other male member of his team. "No, it's my fault," Jaune countered, "I should have realized, what with the door being closed, and Pyrrha not being in the room."

Ren nodded along sagely, as if forgiving.

"Pervert."

Jaune sighed, turning towards Blake. "You _have_ to realize that was an accident, right?"

The girl tilted her head at him, her black locks moving as she did. "You stood there seconds longer than you should have."

Jaune couldn't help the blush that came to his face, remembering what he saw in that brief moment of time. "I-I was surprised!"

" _Sure_ you were." Blake let out, opening her book and ignoring him completely. She muttered something that he couldn't hear.

"Sorry, what was that?" He asked her to repeat what she said, but she clearly was ignoring him completely now.

 _Great_. Jaune sighed, standing and moving over to their closet. He couldn't even remember unpacking their bags. _Could you make an even bigger fool of yourself, Jaune Arc_?

He changed into his sleep clothes – still not willing to risk breaking out the onesie again so soon – and returned to sitting on his bed. In the silence of the room, with Ren appearing to be meditating and Blake both ignoring him and being invested in her book, he could hear when the bathtub started to drain.

Minutes later, the bathroom door opened, and Pyrrha stuck her head out. Her eyes met Jaune's, and the boy looked away with a blush.

He heard every step she took across the floor, and glanced as she got a little closer. He looked away, when he envisioned her nude, wet, and covered in suds.

She sat down across from him, on her own bed. A bed that wasn't far from his own. The white bathrobe she was wearing looked comfortable, but Jaune kept his gaze above her shoulders. She was staring directly into his eyes, after all.

" _Sorry_..." He managed to squeak out, shuffling uncomfortably.

The girl just smiled at him, in response, and Jaune had to admit, his heart skipped a beat. "It's alright. Accidents happen."

 _That... that was it_?

The redheaded girl stood, looking away. Jaune subconsciously took the opportunity to look lower. He gasped, before covering his eyes. "Y-your knot's loose!" He let out quickly, no fear of the repercussion of looking for fear of what would have happened had he not noticed.

He heard the girl shuffle across from him. "I-It's okay now..."

Jaune uncovered his eyes, to see Pyrrha's blushing face and a redone knot tying her robe tight. He let out a sigh of relief.

"Thanks..." The girl offered, before walking over to the closet. Jaune looked towards the window when he realized she was getting a change of clothes. He heard the bathroom door close once again.

Jaune breathed quickly, not realizing he'd been holding it for quite a while there.

He heard an unfamiliar sound, before looking to the source.

Ren was... chuckling? The boy looked up with a slight smile. "Would you like me to teach you meditation?"

Blake snorted from behind the blond, over on her bed.

Huffing Jaune crossed his arms, recognizing when he was the butt of the joke. "Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up."

"Pervert." Blake called out again, in a singsong voice.

The blond growled, before turning and throwing his pillow at his partner. He was as surprised as she looked, a moment before it made contact.

The pillow hit Blake's face, and stuck.

Pyrrha walked out of the bathroom, wearing her pyjamas while brushing her teeth.

Ren snorted in laughter.

And all hell broke loose.

* * *

Pyrrha kept her legs rigid and her head up, looking at the professor expectantly as Ren stood beside her. It wasn't a situation that was common for her, in any which way, but she knew how to act and what to say.

"...which is why we both came here this morning. To formally apologize." Her partner summarized, standing in a way not unlike hers.

The rotund man before her – his strength clearly visible to someone who made a championship career out of being able to analyze her opponents – let out a low hum. After a moment, he began to stroke his chin, as if he were considering their words carefully, letting out a considerably longer hum.

Professor Peter Port looked up at the two of them and nodded. "I understand where you're coming from, I'll admit. You two both understand the consequences of tardiness – both here and in the field – correct?"

"Yes, Professor." Pyrrha confirmed.

A moment later, the head of Beacon's Grimm Studies let out a hearty laugh. "It's certainly a rare occurrence, having students come apologize to me for their tardiness. I accept your formal apology." He looked to Ren, to Pyrrha, the girl reflexively stiffening. "Do your best to ensure it doesn't happen again."

"Understood." Ren said in a voice that all but guaranteed it. "We'll see you tomorrow then, Professor."

"Indeed. Enjoy the rest of your day, you two."

While the professor turned, making his way back behind his desk to go over whatever he'd been looking at before, Pyrrha looked to Ren, who met her eyes. The boy nodded in the direction of the exit, and they made their way out.

Once Ren closed the door behind them, Pyrrha let out a relieved sigh.

"That was unbelievably stressful..." Ren agreed, Pyrrha watching as the boy rubbed at his forehead. "When he's not lecturing, he just has this... _presence_."

Pyrrha nodded in agreement. She felt thirsty. "He's a huntsman, that's for sure." She jabbed her thumb over her shoulder, pointing back down the hall. "Shall we go?"

She could visibly see Ren bite back a yawn, the boy nodding along. Pyrrha felt a little bad for him. Her partner clearly wasn't a morning person at all – even worse off than herself, it seemed. They agreed on getting up early after the wind down from that massive pillow fight the night before. A pillow fight she ultimately won without being able to use her Semblance, even if Blake's own Semblance caught her off guard once.

As they made their way down the hallway, Pyrrha turned to her partner, considering the boy for a moment. He talked when he needed to, and not when he didn't need to. For how simple it was, it made him complicated.

She used to know someone like him when she was younger. He had been the type of person who didn't enjoy small talk. Thinking Ren might be the same, Pyrrha really didn't try to get him to say anything, but rather just walked alongside him on the way to their first class of the day.

"You think Jaune and Blake are awake?" Ren asked after a minute or so of walking, catching Pyrrha a little off guard – and bringing a faint blush to her face as she remembered what the latter had done last night.

"I think they would be, but Jaune seemed tired last night." Pyrrha answered honestly.

"Does that assumption have anything to do with him seeing you-"

" _Don't say it_!" Pyrrha let out quickly, cutting her partner off as her blush grew. She'd have slugged him one in the arm if they were any closer, but instead just rubbed her own shyly. "Well, he was ill the other day, or so we think." She took in a breath. "Think he'll be better today?"

"I hope so."

Their conversation ended there, with Pyrrha still blushing at Ren's comment. He _had_ to bring that up again. Maybe her initial assessment of him was wrong, and he was just a silent joker?

Three more minutes of walking in silence didn't give her any answers. The two approached the door of their first class of the day – one their entire team was taking together. A core class, focusing on the handling and usage of Dust. Nothing Pyrrha could admit she was really interested in. Despite its name, it was probably more theory than anything.

Pushing their way into the classroom, Pyrrha was surprised to see a familiar head of black hair with a bow on top. It was a lecture hall not unlike Professor Port's and it seems they were going to have the front row again. As she tugged on Ren's sleeve and pointed, she noticed a blond mop of hair resting on the desk next to Blake. They approached, and it seemed like Jaune groaned reflexively.

"Are you okay...?" Pyrrha offered, noting that like the first class of the year, there was a seat available on either side of the duo. She hadn't considered it in Port's class – having been late – but why didn't they shuffle over so they could sit as partners? Or maybe she was just missing something.

Even thinking on that – and recalling what happened the previous night – Pyrrha silently took the spot next to Jaune as people began to file in. The boy seemed to shuffle nervously, letting out an "I'm fine," and she could feel a faint blush of embarrassment hit her own face in response.

They hadn't talked about it, aside from Jaune's apologies. And, in all honesty, that was probably best.

She looked down at her chest, ensuring that everything was in order, before she looked up to Jaune. He turned his head away quickly. He'd been looking again. Pyrrha knew why, but refused to think on it any further as a throat was cleared at the front of the class, silencing the students.

"Hiya! Good morning!" The young looking woman at the front of the class spoke. Pyrrha had to blink, to make sure she wasn't just seeing things: She looked like she was their age, with thick framed glasses and long, bubble gum pink hair. "Welcome to... well, you can call it a lot of things: You can call it Applications and Usage of Dust, or Dust Physics, or Dust Mechanics, or Dust _one-oh-one._ " The apparent professor smiled, before posing. "Or you can call it what I like to call it: _Science_!"

There was clapping from a few rows up, and the girl bowed, before standing to her full height. "My name is Sheryl J. Peach. I am also in charge of ensuring you leave my class with all of your limbs, but that isn't really important. You guys _did_ sign the waiver after all."

Pyrrha turned to Jaune, who turned to look at her with an equal amount of surprise. Pyrrha leaned forward, and met the eyes of both Ren and Blake as well.

Yeah, they were all just as confused as she was, it seemed.

"Now, first things first!" The professor went to her desk and picked up a neat, thick stack of papers. "You all get to take a test!"

All around the room, people started mumbling and grumbling. Even Jaune, seated next to her, let out an annoyed-sounding sigh.

Pyrrha took it upon herself to reassure Jaune. "It's our first class, it can't be too bad."

Jaune just whined. "Pyrrha... you _never_ say that..."

The redhead blinked at his reaction. "Why not?"

"Now then, don't open these until I say so." As if responding in place of Jaune, Professor Peach slid a small booklet before her, titled 'Day One Test', proceeding to hand them out to everyone. It looked to be about five pages or so. Probably just a little introductory thing, nothing more.

Once the professor was in front of them again, standing with her hands clasped behind her back, Pyrrha readied her pencil.

"Alright, begin."

Pyrrha opened her booklet, and stared, looking at the first question.

 _No_.

She looked to the second question, and then flipped the page. She flipped through all the pages, until the last, reading every question.

 _No, no, no_...

Next to her, Jaune's pencil snapped in his fingers. " _Called it_." He hissed.

She vowed to never say those words – to never tempt fate – again.

* * *

Blake's head smacked down on the desk before her as she sat, glad to be finally done with that infernal test. It was absolutely nothing but degrading; she could hardly take it seriously! It even went so far as to ask her questions she'd hadn't even the slightest clue how to answer.

At least it was multiple choice, but she wasn't sure it was made that way to be forgiving; chances are, the test was only multiple choice so that they could actually complete it. She looked to her left, seeing that Jaune was staring at the last question carefully, before making his choice – though she didn't see what it was. On the other side of him, Pyrrha stared straight ahead with dead eyes, having finished the test before her with clearly a less than savory result, like herself.

Ren seemed content, having finished first of everyone in the class. Either he gave up early, or he was some kind of genius.

A few minutes of waiting later, a tall boy with short brown hair handed in his test shaking his head as if disappointed with himself. After he returned to his seat, the unassuming sadist at the front of the class cleared her throat.

"Alright!" Professor _Bitch_ squeaked. "Now that everyone's done, how many of you think you passed that test?" There was a pause, and Blake looked back, seeing one or two hands go up. Further down the row, Ren's went up as well, though half-heartedly. Maybe he hadn't done well after all? "So few? That's because you've all received an inferior education. My job is to correct those deficiencies in the brief time I have with you. By the end of the year, you'll be able to pass this very test I just gave you. That's all. You can go."

Blake glared at the pinkette before her words registered, and the girl blinked. That was it for their class? There were still like thirty minutes left!

"Holy hell that was hard." Jaune let out somewhat quietly. Blake nodded along with his comment, returning to staring daggers at her least favorite Beacon professor until she left the room with their tests.

"What was even the point of that?" Pyrrha asked aloud.

"It's an exercise in our best interests." Ren noted. "It wasn't handled the best, but it gives us an idea of where we're going to be in a year from now. From the sound of things, we'll be given the same test at the end of the year. She gave us her expectations."

Blake sighed, understanding Ren's explanation, but still not necessarily forgiving the professor. She didn't want to vocalize her distaste, however, and went for another angle. "She seems awfully young to be a professor here."

"She really does..." Pyrrha agreed.

From across the room, Blake picked up a stray statement: " _I want Professor Peach to step on me_..."

Blake coughed to hide the involuntary twitch of an ear that thinking on that statement brought forth. "We've got time before our next classes now. What should we do?"

"Cafeteria is open all day because everyone has such weird schedules." Jaune pointed out, turning in his seat. "We could stop there if anyone is hungry, and then do something else during our lunch period?"

Ren stood, Blake noticing that most of the other students were already beginning to make their way out. "That sounds fine with me, actually. Neither Pyrrha nor I went for breakfast this morning." The boy turned his eyes to her, then to Jaune. "Did you two?"

"Nah, not today." Jaune mentioned as he shuffled out, Pyrrha already standing. "Blake?" The boy added, posing the question to her as well.

"I read while you slept in." She hadn't been hungry regardless, but she had to admit she was really feeling it now. "Food sounds... great."

It didn't take long at all for them to reach the cafeteria. Blake even had a little bit of a smile on her face when they pushed their way inside, amused by her team's antics. There was a really fun moment – at least, to her – when Jaune asked Ren if he was serious about the offer to teach him meditation the previous night. Pyrrha's confused expression had almost even brought out a chuckle out of her.

Idly, while they lined up for food – a short line, of course – Blake looked to Jaune, the boy standing behind her. He was sort of staring off into space, yawning.

"Still tired?" Blake asked, garnering the blond's attention.

Jaune didn't answer immediately, but nodded a moment later. "I don't know why..." He yawned again, blinking rapidly. "I think everything is just finally catching up to me."

The girl suppressed her own yawn, nodding along. She still didn't know if Jaune had really been ill over the past couple days, but that last statement was pretty telling. After all, she didn't really think it could have been something as simple as nerves, especially when it seemed like it had lasted so long. She shrugged internally, stepping forward as Ren got his food, the boy moving aside to make way for Pyrrha. "Maybe after classes you should have a nap."

"Maybe..." He somewhat agreed, otherwise silent. After a moment, Blake stepped up to the counter when Pyrrha stepped away, a bowl on her tray.

The old lady behind the counter nodded upon seeing her, smiling. "I know just what to get for you. Give me a jiffy..." She retreated around the corner, headed back to the kitchen. Blake had no idea why Beacon was set up in such a way: it seemed like you didn't have a choice in what you were given to eat. The other day, for dinner, she'd been given a decent helping of bread and some hearty stew. That would have been acceptable if everyone had gotten stew, but it seemed like they'd all had gotten something different.

Her musings were disturbed as the cafeteria lady came back, heckling with a tray in her hands. "Here you go, darling. Enjoy."

Blake took her tray, looking down on it as she stepped to the side, where Ren and Pyrrha were waiting. She had a couple links of sausage, and one slice of watermelon. Hardly what she'd think was a balanced meal. She looked over to the trays of the other two, noting they had an odd assortment themselves. Ren looked like he had a simple salad and a slice of ham with syrup on it. Pyrrha had a bowl of beans, and, like, four entire carrots.

Somehow, Blake didn't think the cafeteria lady knew what she was doing.

"Not again..." Blake heard from behind her, looking over her shoulder as Jaune approached, her eyes went to his tray, and her stomach growled.

"You got swordfish again?" Ren asked, exasperated. Blake somewhat ignored the boy's comment, able to see the evidence with her eyes alone.

 _Gimme_.

Blake's eyes were on Jaune's tray the entire time as they moved to a table, sitting. When they settled in, and Jaune didn't touch his fish for a good three seconds, Blake spoke.

"Are you going to eat your swordfish?"

"Uh..." The girl didn't see the expression on the boy's face, as she was too focused on the lustrous, grilled scales covering the delicious meat on his tray. "It's kinda all I have?"

"I'll trade you." Blake offered, pushing her tray towards him quickly, still staring.

There was a sound of surprise from Jaune, Blake finally looking up to his eyes.

"Sure?"

Blake beamed, pushing her tray towards the boy as he lifted her new meal over top. The girl took it from his hands, dragging it before her. She reached down, gripped the swordfish by its tailfin, and stopped, having momentarily forgotten her table manners. She only stopped for a moment though, to grab her knife as she filleted the thing in mere seconds.

"Ah, so that's how you eat a swordfish." She thought she heard, but all her senses were focused on the succulent meal before her.

By the time she was done, there was nothing left but bones and the organs the cook neglected to remove. She'd probably have eaten those too – the organs, not the bones – but she patted her gut, more than satisfied.

Now, if only she could get that for every meal.

She blinked, looking at the others and the state of their meals. Sometime during her reverie, both Pyrrha and Jaune had finished eating themselves, and were chatting while Ren cut into his ham. She watched as the boy put a piece into his mouth, wincing as he chewed, before swallowing. "So sweet..." He murmured.

"Anyways." Jaune started out, Blake more than willing to listen to the man who shared his swordfish with her. "We're split into partners for the next two classes, right? The opposite classes from yesterday afternoon."

"Right. We go to History with Oobleck, while you have Professor... _Professor_..."

"Yeah." Blake spared Pyrrha from having to pronounce the Communications teacher's name. "After that, it's our actual lunch break, and then Goodwitch for the rest of the day."

For a place that had been teaching huntsmen and huntresses for decades, Blake really thought Beacon needed to get its shit together: Messed up schedules that were hardly schedules in the first place; the cafeteria lady and what she fed them; letting someone like Professor Bitch teach...

At least they made sure they got plenty of fighting experience. That was certainly something she could appreciate. In fact, that was probably the class she looked forward to the most.

Blake couldn't wait for the afternoon.

* * *

Jaune wished the afternoon had never come.

He could fight decently well; he knew that from his training. If he could hold his own against his older sister on a bad day, he was sure he'd be fine in most situations.

But that didn't mean he wanted to be called down, to fight against someone in front of his peers, and lose. Despite everything, the blond had the feeling that if he was called down today, he'd lose. Just like the other day. Just like the hundreds of other times he'd done against Velvet. Every match that occurred in this class just made him even more nervous.

He just didn't feel like he could win. Letting out a shuddering breath, Jaune groaned a little, before he sucked air back in with a yawn. With how strangely tired he felt, he didn't even think he'd be a match for the weakest in his class – whoever that may be.

But, maybe today he'd be lucky. Maybe today, he wouldn't hear 'Jaune Arc' called.

Wincing at the thought, he strained his ears as Goodwitch spoke.

"Cardin Winchester and Yang Xiao Long to the floor, please."

Huh. That was odd. He could have sworn he was going to be called down. The blonde girl in the row before him stood with a quiet cheer. Checking the clock, he noted it would be the last match of the day. He let out a thankful sigh, then watched Yang as she made her way to the stairs. Would it have been awkward to wish her luck?

Jaune frowned to himself as she descended out of his vision. He looked to Blake, and then to Pyrrha and Ren.

They were his team. Of them, he met only Ren the night before initiation – though he thought he could recall seeing Pyrrha. The members of VLWR, on the other hand? He'd conversed with every one of them before they were put into teams.

He felt he knew them better than his own team, currently, as odd as that sounded.

And he didn't know what to do about that.

 _But you've seen more of Pyrrha than anyone else now_ \- _No_! _Bad thoughts_!

Jaune shook his head, as if to rid his head physically of the distraction, trying to return to his previous train of thought: He was the leader of his team. He had to make the decisions.

But he still didn't know _what_ he should do.

A vaguely heretical thought crossed his mind, and he turned to look at Nora, the leader of VLWR. Seeing how the team interacted with one another throughout the day made it seem like they all became so close in such a short period of time. It couldn't be that they were all girls; Jaune's sisters were solid proof of how that couldn't be a reason.

If that wasn't it... was it maybe Nora?

Before the match could start in earnest, Jaune stood out of his seat, crouched down as he walked over to where the orange haired girl sat, next to Ruby.

"Hey Nora..." Jaune offered, but the girl didn't turn immediately, chatting with Ruby about something or other. When there was a gap in the conversation the blond cleared his throat. "Nora?"

Her light blue eyes turned to him, and she smiled. It caught him off guard, considering their last interaction. "Yes?"

He cut right to the chase, the fight about to start. "Can we talk after class?"

The girl hummed, pursing her lips. "What about?"

"Stuff."

"And things?"

"Stuff and things." Jaune agreed. Ruby, next to Nora, looked back and forth between them.

"What?" The cloaked girl asked.

"Sure." Nora answered. "We'll meet just outside."

Nodding along, Jaune turned, managing to make it back to his seat just as Goodwitch called the start of the match. Ren looked to him in curiosity, but didn't say anything.

"What's up?" Blake asked instead.

"Just going to talk to Nora about something after the match." Jaune stated, turning his eyes to Yang as she rushed the leader of CRDL. "I think Yang will win this."

"Oh?" Blake offered. "Why do you think that?"

Jaune frowned as he realized he didn't exactly have a nice, immediate answer for her. "Because I'd rather her win than Cardin?"

Blake snorted at that. "Seriously though... Why?"

The blond had a feeling there was more to the girl's question, but he just shrugged. "To be honest, I don't know. I don't know either of them too well, or how they fight yet. I just guessed Yang because I know her better than Cardin."

His partner hummed, but didn't say anything more. Jaune watched on, seeing a fist wiz past Cardin's face as the tall boy took a step back, pushing against Yang with the haft of his weapon to create distance. He didn't seem like an agile fighter at all. If anything, he fought how Jaune would, if he had to fight with a mace that size. One difference Jaune noted though, is that the boy was actually somewhat composed – more than Jaune felt he would have, had he been in the same situation. Facing off against Yang, that is.

The way she tried to get as close as she could to prevent any kind of counter attack... He'd have to do something about that, were he to fight her.

Something he realized would probably be an eventuality. He'd have to fight everyone in this room, at some point, whether it was training with his teammates, or a match like the one going on.

A nagging doubt wormed its way into his brain again. That he might be found out.

Surprising Jaune – as well as Ruby who jumped in her chair, squeaking – The head of Cardin's mace caught Yang right in her center of mass, sending her flying. From just the sound it made when it did so, Jaune figured the match might be over. Yang righted herself in mid air, wincing as she stayed on her feet, skidding across the floor. Judging by the board, that took a _lot_ of Yang's Aura.

The sound of a shotgun shell firing resounded, and Yang charged forwards. Cardin was slow on the recovery from his own swing and was knocked flat by Yang's punch.

The match was over then, and Jaune learned something new, glancing towards the board:

There were girls that could punch harder than a muscly boy could swing a large mace.

 _Huh_.

Goodwitch stepped out to the floor as the lighting returned to the area around it. "A well enough fought match. Obviously there's room for improvement. I will mention though; you both took unnecessary risks that left yourselves open. Mr. Winchester: Don't take such large swings that leave you open."

"Yes, Professor Goodwitch." The boy responded, dusting himself off as he stood.

"Miss Xiao Long." The blonde professor turned. "You left your feet when you were within striking distance of your opponent. If you were a more agile fighter, I'd wouldn't have anything to say, but it left you completely open in this case. Either avoid doing so, or do so in a way that doesn't leave you so open."

"Got it." The girl nodded.

Goodwitch looked around, as if to regard the class. "That's a good lesson for all of you. The exception being when time is of the essence, or any other situation that demands your immediate intervention, focus on ensuring your own safety above all else. Only take necessary risks. Dismissed."

A murmur went up the moment class was over, some of the students talking amongst each other. Jaune and his team stood, as did the members of VLWR before him. He met Nora's eyes and she nodded.

Once they were all outside, Jaune turned to his team, the three of them having been walking along with him. "You guys can go ahead back to the dorm... or do whatever you want to." He added on as an afterthought, realizing they didn't actually all have to do things together. "I've got to talk with Nora about something."

Blake just nodded before she headed off, looking over her shoulder at him for but a moment. Pyrrha followed her with a quick "Bye!", while Ren gave him the same questioning look.

"What do you have to talk to Nora about?" The boy asked plainly, but not the usual kind of plainly. There was something to it Jaune couldn't put his finger on.

The blond took a breath. Nora wasn't there yet – probably waiting for Yang to catch up – so he figured he could speak to Ren for a moment. Nora and him were friends, after all. "I wanted to talk to her about leader stuff."

"Leader stuff?" Ren wondered aloud, looking a little surprised.

Jaune nodded. "She's the leader of her team, and I'm the leader of ours. I figured, as leaders, I should talk to her about... leader stuff."

 _That sounded suspicious as hell. Good job Jaune_.

It took a moment before Ren responded, and he did so with a hum and a nod. "I'll leave you to it, then." He began to walk away, offering a wave in departure. "Later."

"See ya."

Standing alone in the hallway, Jaune leaned up against the wall behind him, and watched as kept coming out of the viewing area's door. After about a minute passed, a group of four came out, but it wasn't the one he was waiting for. Cardin's face was screwed into a snarl, and the rest of his team looked somewhat... cautious?

When Cardin's eyes met his, the taller boy's expression twitched, before it twisted into something that Jaune assumed was supposed to resemble a smile. He began to walk towards Jaune, and the blond blinked in response, looking to Cardin's teammates, who just stood back, watching. As he got closer, the boy realized just how much taller Cardin was compared to him.

"You're Jaune Arc, yeah?"

Jaune looked up at Cardin's somewhat smiling face, and offered a weak smile in response. Clearly the guy was upset at his loss. "That's my name."

"If I can say it honestly, and I _have_ to, that name doesn't really fit you." Cardin tilted his head, reaching forward to grip Jaune's shoulder. His meaty fingers squeezed tightly. "You sure you aren't a _Pansy_ Arc instead?"

There was a loud sound of metal clanging against marble and Cardin released Jaune's shoulder, startled. The tall boy turned, and Jaune peeked out around him.

"What do you want?" Cardin asked aggressively, Jaune smiling as he saw Nora standing there, her hammer folded out into its full length. The rest of CRDL were further off to the side, not wanting to be caught in the crossfire – and who could blame them?

"I'm about ready to hit someone. And. You're. Too. Close."

Cardin stood there for a moment, and Jaune had to bite his lip to keep himself from laughing at the tall boy's expense. Serves him right. It seemed like luck really was on his side today! The apparent bully clicked his tongue, and started to walk away. Jaune watched him as he and his team left. The tall boy looked over his shoulder, glaring, before his eyes widened in surprise-

Jaune doubled over as he was struck in the abdomen, coughing as the air was knocked from his lungs. He gasped for breath, looking down at Nora's fist.

"He's mine. Understand?" Jaune heard, looking up at Nora, before looking over to CRDL. Cardin nodded rapidly, before quickening his pace as he and his team made their escape swiftly.

Jaune coughed again as Nora pulled her fist back. "Wh-Why...?"

"Do you think I could manage an acting career if being a huntress doesn't work out?" Nora asked cheerily. " _Ooh_ , I wonder if they'd let me do my own stunts!"

The blond stood up somewhat cautiously, a little confused. Nora tilted her head and smiled.

"Well?"

Blinking, Jaune rubbed his gut. "I don't think an actress would punch that hard when recording a scene..."

"Oh no, that was one-hundred percent real. For you looking up my skirt the other day."

The boy sighed as he blushed at the memory. "Of course..."

"Anyways, they shouldn't bother you for now." Nora clicked her tongue as she looked in the direction CRDL went. "I hate bullies."

"Thanks."

"No problem." Nora folded up her hammer – definitely an interesting looking weapon – and put it on her back. "You wanted to talk?"

"Yeah." Jaune looked around. "Your team isn't with you?"

"Nah, they all went off to do their own thing."

"I see. I wanted to talk to you about... well... leader stuff."

Nora nodded along, as if that's what she expected. Her eyes watched him carefully, and Jaune had to admit he shuffled a little under the pressure.

"It's not like I have problems with my team, or anything. Or that my team has problems. But it just seems like everyone on your team gets along so well, you know?" Jaune explained, gesturing widely with his hands as he did. "Like, you're all chatting with each other when you're together, and stuff."

"For me it's the opposite."

The girl's statement – and the serious tone she said it with – caught Jaune off guard. "What?"

The girl looked like she was... sad? "I wanted to talk to you too... About being a leader."


	5. To Lead

**Hello everyone! sorry for the huge delay on this chapter. When I said this wouldn't be updated regularly, I didn't mean _that_ long of a break between chapters. I got really busy with school stuff - still am - and am trying to find a job, so things kept piling up, and this was, for a moment, at the bottom of said pile. Forgive me.**

 **Without further ado, here's the chapter!**

* * *

 _Beta: Knight of Cerberus_

 _"Yeah, all that writing is tiring."_

* * *

Taking a deep breath, Jaune hesitated, holding his scroll just out of the range of the lock to the dorm room's door. Clicking his tongue, the boy turned his head, looking over his shoulder to the girl who was across the hall behind him. She was looking back at him with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

Nora Valkyrie, as Jaune had learned, was just a normal person like him – not that she was abnormal, aside from the massive hammer she swung around and her seemingly endless supply of energy. She was normal person. One who had concerns, ideas, feelings... all things he hadn't truly been considering, all this time.

They'd talked for the better part of an hour, discussing their teams, what they should do, how they should go about it. He'd come to her for advice, and found she needed it as much as he did. It wasn't until Jaune got a message on his scroll from Blake that he realized they'd gone on for so long.

Nora's eyes right now, meeting his from across the hall... Jaune didn't want to say the girl was nervous by any means. Just anxious, or perhaps more simply, concerned. Everything he'd seen of VLWR, they were a functioning team.

Underneath the surface, however – as Nora had explained – her team had all sorts of problems: Weiss and Yang's constant bickering was their biggest issue, but Jaune, upon being informed of what he'd been missing with regards to the all-female team he was more or less familiar with, had then turned his thoughts to the team _he_ was the leader of.

What all could he have been missing? Is there something he couldn't see? Multiple somethings?

The boy shuffled in place and attempted to relax as he lowered his scroll to the side, taking a moment to mentally reset. Behind him, he heard VLWR's door closing, now alone in the quiet hallway. He reached up, swiped his scroll across the pad, and turned the doorknob.

As the blond pushed his way in, three sets of eyes turned to him. Ren was standing, seemingly in the middle of the dorm, arms crossed. His expression was, for lack of a better term, blank. Blake had been reading, which was honestly not a surprise to him, while Pyrrha was sitting on the edge of her bed, scroll in hand. Seeing him enter, she slid her scroll closed, and put it down beside her.

They all shared a curious gaze.

"There you are." Pyrrha called out with a smile. "I'd been about to ask you whether we should have just met in the cafeteria, or if we should've just been waiting here."

Jaune nodded along, surveying the faces of his teammates – _his team._ "You guys are hungry?"

"Yes." Blake stated, sitting up fully after marking the page she was on and setting her book to the side. "You were gone for a while."

Jaune took that moment to nod again, rubbing his face as he looked among the three of them. "We can go grab something to eat in a bit, but...," a last minute feeling of nagging doubt hit him, but he pushed it far into the back of his mind. "I was wondering if you guys wouldn't mind chatting for a bit?"

That got a tilt of the head from Pyrrha, a shrug of the shoulders from Ren, and a perhaps hesitant nod from Blake. The redhead clasped her hands together before speaking.

"What about?"

That was just it though, really: What about? All kinds of scenarios and topics ran through Jaune's head, some of them even ones he suggested Nora bring up when she talked with her team. But for some reason, it wasn't easy to just start talking about something out of nowhere.

After a moment, he let out a breath, and rubbed the back of his head. "I want to talk about us. Our team."

That seemed to get everyone's interest. Ren turned to face him fully, re-crossing his arms. "Us?"

Jaune nodded, before taking a moment to look around the dorm. It was both a means to distract himself, and also to gather his thoughts. As his eyes settled on the desk chair, he walked over, pulling it out and turning it around to face the members of his team. The blond sat, and hunched over a little, looking up and around at everyone. "I... suppose I should be honest about something."

His partner shuffled in place on her bed, and Jaune looked to her. Blake seemed to stare into his eyes, making him less comfortable through no fault of her own. The boy sighed, looking back to Pyrrha and Ren as well.

"I f-feel like I don't know you guys too well yet." The boy explained, their stares putting pressure on him as he feared what they might expect. Ren nodded along with his statement, but Pyrrha looked confused, so Jaune continued: "I mean, I know you guys, but I don't... well, know you, I guess?"

"Like... we've talked and stuff, but we haven't talked-talked?" Ren offered.

"Exactly." Jaune agreed, smiling up at his green-clad teammate.

"Really, you two?" The two boys blinked, turning to Blake. "I mean, it's not like I didn't understand, but you could have explained it better than 'knowing and not knowing' and 'talking but not talking.'"

Jaune and the other boy shared a glance. The blond shrugged with a sheepish smile, and Ren echoed the motion.

"Oh. That's what you mean." Pyrrha sounded out, everyone turning to her. "Since we don't really know each other, even though we... know each other... you want introductions?"

The blond nodded to Pyrrha. Introductions probably wasn't the right word though... but honestly, he couldn't think a better one. "We're going to be a team for four years-" Something else Nora had conveniently reminded him of, "-and while I'm sure being just a team is enough, we should be friends as well."

"You mean we weren't already?" Blake asked, challenging casually. There was something behind her words, but he couldn't read it. The thing was, Jaune had no good answer for her.

After a moment, Ren spoke. "I think what Jaune is trying to say is we've really only just been friendly, and – while we know each other – we don't know each other like he feels we should." Jaune nodding along with him. For some reason, it passed through his mind the boy would have made a good leader – possibly a better one than him.

Blake hummed. Jaune looked up to meet her eyes, and she moved to meet his. He wasn't sure what she was looking at, or looking for, but after a moment, the girl sighed. Her long black hair swung as she moved to the very edge of her bed. She stopped, leaning forwards with her elbows resting on her knees as she propped herself up.

"So we're talking about us..." Blake let out. Jaune wasn't sure if it was a question or a confirmation, but he adopted a somewhat similar pose to Blake's own.

"We can just go around, sharing small things." He suggested. He didn't exactly feel like sharing his entire life story – and he could assume the others weren't privy to doing that either, judging from the looks on their faces. "Like... okay..."

A moment passed, Jaune realizing how truly hard this all was.

"I have seven sisters." The blond blurted out, the silence having reached the point where it was almost as if no one would say anything, ever again. "One older, and six younger."

As he said that, he watched the faces of the rest of his team. He couldn't read Ren's expression, while Pyrrha looked absolutely terrified for a moment, before tilting her head and cringing. Blake, who he remembered he'd talked about this with a little, looked confused.

"An older sister? I thought you said something about being an only child before."

Jaune blinked, as everyone else looked back to him. He had? "My older sister is, well... I chose for myself, I guess you could say? Not related by blood, but a sister through... _through_..."

"The heart?" Ren offered.

"Sure, we can go with that. Regardless, I consider her my sister – and she might as well be blood, too. We've done so much together. Been there for each other. It's hard to imagine her as anyone but my sister."

 _Ugh_ , _I'd die if I said that in front of Velvet_...

"It's not too different with me." Ren began. The spotlight off of himself for a moment, Jaune took a breath, studying his teammate's face. He had a far off look in his eyes, but he didn't seem apprehensive at all – as if he were simply reminiscing. "Nora and I aren't related by blood, but she's the only family I have."

Jaune nodded along. He'd gotten that kind of impression from the two of them already - Nora especially.

"The two of us are orphans. I..." The boy's lips curled into a faint frown for but a second. "We've always had each other's backs."

A strained silence hung over the room at Ren's following statement. Jaune felt it would be rude to ask any more of the boy, but he couldn't say anything else himself, simply shuffling his feet where he sat.

"I suppose I can go next." Blake spoke up, Jaune more than a little surprised. He'd figured Pyrrha would've been the one to break the silence. "I guess we're talking about our families?" The black-haired girl hummed, staring at a random point on the floor.

"I'm an only child. Lived with my mother and father for a while but... I moved in with extended family after a fight."

Jaune pursed his lips. He couldn't imagine being any further from his family than the distance already between them as is.

"What about your extended family?" Ren queried.

"I had a bad fight with them too."

Jaune cringed. The conversation had really just gone from depressing to somehow even more depressing. When the boy turned to Pyrrha, he noted she had an equally disturbed expression, before her lips turned to a pleasant smile – but yet she still hesitated to speak.

A moment passed, and she still hadn't said anything. Jaune tilted his head when the silence had stretched far too long for his liking. "Pyrrha?"

It was as if the girl had just woken up, blinking and looking around the room, before her eyes settled into his. "Wha- yes?"

"It's your turn." Blake pointed out, causing the redhead to turn towards her.

"Oh, sorry. I was just thinking." The girl smiled awkwardly.

"It's fine. Go ahead."

"Well, with my fighting career, I didn't spend much time at home. My mother was always so supportive of me though. I'm truly blessed to have her."

"Wait, fighting career?" Jaune asked once Pyrrha finished her statement, puzzled. This was the first he'd heard of this. "What fighting career?"

A beat passed as everyone turned to Jaune, looking at him slack-jawed. Blake looked to Pyrrha, Pyrrha looked to Blake, and then to Ren. Ren turned back to Jaune and just stared.

"She's Pyrrha Nikos." Ren stated, emphasizing her last name.

"I know her name." Jaune sighed, responding matter-of-factly.

"No, like, Jaune." Blake shook her head, blinking as if she couldn't believe something. "She's Pyrrha Nikos."

"Yeah, I heard him, Blake. Am I not talking loud enough?"

The black haired girl sighed, and fell back onto her bed, shaking her head. Confused, Jaune looked to Pyrrha, the girl unable to hide her embarrassment behind her hands. As Jaune turned to Ren, he leaned back as the boy's scroll was shoved into his face, alight with a video display.

He watched on as a camera showed a wide angle view of what looked to be a large, circular ring, scattered with boulders of varying size – it almost looked like the kind of arena a tournament fight or something would be held on. In fact, it looked like that was exactly what he was being shown. Some tall guy in red clothes that looked somewhat like Ren's typical attire was standing in an open area, some kind of curved sword at the ready. He was facing a cloud of stirring dust.

Before Jaune could ask exactly what he was seeing, he watched as a familiar figure came rushing out of the cloud, her spear held before her as she ran forward. Her bronze armor seemed to glint in the spotlight of the arena, and Jaune's breath hitched as he watched her ponytail flare out behind her.

" _Pyrrha Nikos just doesn't seem to be stopping! No matter what Kylar Carnelian seems to be throwing at her, it seems like she just keeps making out without even a scratch! How does she do it?!_ "

"What is this?" Jaune breathed out, the crowd cheering as Pyrrha dashed forwards.

"The final match of last year's Mistral Regional Tournament." Ren explained. "The last minute of it, actually."

The Mistral Regional- Jaune watched on as there was a loud ping, and Pyrrha's shield came out from her opponent's right, bouncing off a boulder. As he turned to deflect it, Pyrrha threw her javelin.

The man – somehow managed to knock the shield up, sending it flying straight above him. He just barely managed to deflect Pyrrha's javelin into the ground beneath him, point in the dirt. He was fast.

Pyrrha was faster, the heel of her boot catching him in the chin as she flipped, pulling her javelin out of the dirt and transforming it to the sword form Jaune had seen once or twice before. Her opponent tried to slash at her, but the redhead blocked, using the momentum of his strike to continue her flip, catching her shield.

Jaune had seen her fight in class, but this was different. As the roar of the crowd continued to come through to him, muffled by the limitations of the scroll's speaker, his heart raced.

As Pyrrha fell, the man moved to meet her, but was just a moment too slow as the edge of the girl's shield came down right next to his head, along where the collarbone and shoulder of his sword-wielding arm met. He dropped his sword, and Pyrrha smacked him in the side of his head with the shield, before kicking him away.

" _Another impressive show of acrobatics from the three-time champion! It's hard to believe she's only sixteen!_ "

Jaune glanced up at Pyrrha and met her eyes for but a second before he looked back down at the video. He wasn't sure what the look she gave him meant, but he shoved it in the back of his mind, continuing to watch.

The blond blinked, and the man had his sword back in his hand. A semblance? It didn't matter, because in seconds, Pyrrha had disarmed him again, resting the tip of her spear at his throat. Her opponent raised his arms in surrender.

"Wow." Jaune let out, as the announcer ranted and raved over Pyrrha's fourth straight championship victory, the crowd cheering loudly as the redhead celebrated. The camera zoomed in on her face, and he could see her glee clear as day. "I had no idea" the blonde admitted, looking up to Pyrrha. "Four time champion?"

The redhead shrugged lightly, giving him a light smile.

 _And I saw her nake- No! Bad Jaune!_

As the most recent thought stewed, he wondered how many people would want to kill him if they knew. Probably hundreds, if not thousands.

"I'm never going to not knock again."

Pyrrha blinked, her smile dropping from her face, before she began to blush a shade akin to her hair.

"I said that out loud, didn't I."

"Pervert." Blake called out from across the room.

"It was an accident!" Jaune guffawed, while the black haired girl chuckled. Pyrrha buried her face in her hands, while Ren just shook his head disappointedly, but with the hints of a smile.

Despite everything, Jaune couldn't help but let out a snort of amusement himself.

This was his team. And the sobering realization of how they might have to rely on him, the way he was going to have to lean on them?

He'd have to do better.

* * *

"This is boring."

"Shh."

"But Weiss, I-"

"Shh. It's two more minutes."

Nora Valkyrie looked up from her notes – neat, structured, and organized the way Ren taught her – to glance to her right. Yang, furthest away, looked to have given up taking notes all together, while Weiss grumbled, her pen scratching furiously to put down what was written up on the board. Ruby sat between them, looking a little uncomfortable.

"But still-"

The leader of VLWR cleared her throat quietly as she turned back to the front of the class, cutting Yang off and getting a muffled apology from the blonde.

 _'I grew up with seven sisters, and I think sometimes, you just have to take a side. You'll make the wrong decision sometimes, but trust your gut.'_

Nora nodded to herself, eyes tracing the chalk words Professor Peri wrote out as she copied them into her notebook. The tall woman's handwriting was messy, but still legible.

Watching on, Nora even copied down the little smiley face the professor left on the board, before the older woman tossed the stub of chalk in a wastebin next to her desk. Nora didn't even hesitate, closing her notebook as the quiet huntress left the room without even a word.

Yang let out an exasperated sigh, the class coming to life around her – one or two students letting out loud yawns. "Didn't APBL say something about her lessons being interesting?"

"I think it was Pyrrha." Weiss noted, collecting her own notes.

Ruby shrugged her shoulders. "Well, that whole Aura being weaker when you're unaware thing was something new. To me, at least."

Nora nodded along. It was the first she'd heard of it as well. "She's nice."

"I dunno, I think I'd rather have someone more engaging." Yang noted.

"Like Professor Port?"

"Yeah, you've got me there."

"So, lunch time?" Nora offered with a smile, happy the team was interacting somewhat normally.

An enthusiastic "Yup!" from Ruby got the entire team on their feet. As they shuffled over towards the door, Nora watched them all closely – looking between Weiss and Yang specifically. Having been thinking about it the other night, Nora hadn't yet found a way to get the two to really... bond? Not bicker? They were partners, but so far, it seemed like a volatile relationship at bad times, and forced at best.

Sure, they could get along and joke – occasionally – but they seemed to be a little sour towards each other over the strangest things. Nora had no clue if there was something wrong, or if they were just... well... like this?

The girl settled her eyes on Ruby, humming to herself in thought. Could she look to her for some kind of help?

Nora cast the thought into the back of her head. She wasn't just a leader for her team – she was a partner for Ruby as well – and so far, she hadn't really been a partner for her partner.

Being a leader was hard. It was going to give her a headache, sooner or later.

As the team of four moved down the halls – Nora letting the others lead in this as she still didn't quite have the layout of Beacon committed to memory – the girl caught sight of a familiar boy, with his team trailing him. She couldn't say she wanted to see CRDL, but here they were.

She didn't even look at them as they passed each other – wherever the all-male team was headed, or what they thought of her, was of no consequence. However, she did feel their eyes on her, and noticed the way Yang watched them as they watched her.

When Nora could barely hear the boys' footsteps or their muffled whispers, Yang fell out of step with Ruby and Weiss – the white-haired and red-cloaked girl talking about something – and looked down at her.

"What was that about?" Yang quizzed, somewhat quietly. Nora wasn't sure whether Ruby or Weiss noticed or not, continuing to chat between themselves. "I like to think I'm okay at reading people, but-" The girl cut herself off, stretching her arms above her head. "-I have no idea what that was."

"Oh, it's nothing really." Nora smiled, though she kept her tone and general expression serious. ' _Be serious when you have to be serious,_ ' Jaune had shared. "I talked with them the other day."

Yang hummed. "If you say so... but those stares tell me there was more than just a little chat."

"Well, that depends on if you want me to tell you everything."

That got the girl a look from Yang. "Sure."

"The big one? Carter? Cardon?"

"Cardin, I think."

"Yeah that's it. He's a bully." Nora hummed. "Or, well, was about to bully Jaune. Or try to? Dunno. I stopped him."

Yang's expression rolled through various phases, but Nora recognized when it scrunched in confusion, then a brief moment of what appeared to be concern, and then a sly smile. "What did you do?"

Nora chuckled, leaning closer to Yang. "I threatened to hit him with my hammer, then punched Jaune in the gut."

The expression that popped onto Yang's face as the blonde leaned back in surprise was priceless, buying a round of laughter from Nora – one that made Weiss and Ruby both stop and turn in front of her.

As Nora continued to laugh, she crumpled over finding she couldn't stop, clutching her gut. VLWR's leader could barely manage to look up at Ruby's smiling face as the girl let out a wary giggle.

"What's so funny?" Weiss crossed her arms.

Nora snorted as her mirth died down, taking a stumbling step forward. "Oh you missed it! I shared a story with Yang, and her face went all _bwarg!"_ Nora twisted her expression into what she assumed Yang's looked like: a mix of amusement, surprise, and shock, but she couldn't hold it as she burst out in laughter again.

"Hey! I didn't look anything like that!" Yang claimed, stepping closer to the other two as well.

As Nora righted herself, she looked up and saw Yang with a pout and a blush on her face, and smiled. She tried to hold the same expression again. " _Bwarg!"_

A more enthusiastic chuckle broke past Ruby's lips.

Yang smiled. "It wasn't like that... it was like _this!"_ The blonde girl twisted her face into almost the exact same expression from before – how she recreated it willingly far beyond Nora – and the redhead burst out laughing again, followed shortly by a round from Ruby.

And more importantly, though the girl wondered if she was imagining things, it sounded like a most unladylike snort of laughter came from Weiss' direction.

"Yang, I can't breathe!" Ruby let out in between deep gulps of breath, clutching her gut while she hunched over. "You used to make that face to mimic a Beowolf when you-" The younger girl cut off suddenly, face going white as a sheet.

Nora looked over to Yang, body still trembling with laughter. The blonde's expression turned a scheming feral – probably more akin to a wolf than her original mimicry.

"Oh, would you like me to share some stories, sis?"

"N-no!"

"Well, fine. I guess as your benevolent and kind older sister, I'll spare you it this once." Yang grinned.

"I'm surprised you know a word as long as benevolent." Weiss stated. For a moment, Nora thought she was just being all... _Weiss-y?_ But from the tone of her voice and her easy expression, it was more as if she was teasing the blonde girl. "Also, benevolent and kind mean the exact same thing. You essentially just called yourself the 'kind and kind' older sister."

"Really?" Yang scratched her head, chuckling as she smiled nervously. "I guess I did."

Nora looked between the two. Two girls who had just seemed nothing but antagonistic to each other recently. Or had that just been her imagination all along?

Had nothing truly been wrong?

"You okay Nora?" Ruby asked, breaking her from her musings.

"Hm?" The three girls who were her teammates looked to her, so Nora began to walk down the hall again, smiling over her shoulder as she waved off Ruby's inquisition. "Oh, I'm fine. Come on, let's get to the cafeteria. I'm starving."

"I'm rather hungry myself." Weiss admitted, Nora only able to hear her as she turned around to face forwards. "I really hope the cafeteria lady actually gives me food today, and not... that."

Nora shivered at Weiss' statement. Yesterday's supper had not been pleasant.

"We all share the same hope, I think... Except for Ruby." Yang pointed out after a moment. "I still don't think a plate full of cookies is, well... a balanced meal."

"And definitely not something to consume all at once..." Nora didn't even have to see it to know Yang and Weiss were both staring pointedly at the shorter girl.

"I said I was sorry... and did we really need curtains anyways?"

"Yes." All three girls echoed. Nora suppressed her mirth at the unified response, stepping forward with confidence as Ruby groaned.

These girls were her team, and she was their leader.

She felt an odd sense of pride at the thought. Her team. The bestest team ever.

And she was going to be the bestest leader. Ever.

* * *

Jaune and his team stood in a circle – or a square, whatever. Three pairs of eyes looked to him, and he met them all as he scanned the faces of his teammates.

He'd never been more nervous in his entire life, really. Okay, that was an understatement. Arriving at Beacon had been much, much worse, but right now he was probably the one of them that knew the absolute least about fighting, and yet...

Here they were.

"So..." Jaune went to scratch the back of his head, before catching himself and not falling back on the nervous habit. He flexed his hand instead, and put a thumb through the loop of his belt where Crocea Mors typically stayed. "Before we get started..." The blonde sighed.

He really didn't know how to go about this. He knew what he needed to do, but putting it in action was much harder than it seemed.

His team, thankfully, was patient. Pyrrha and Ren offered reassuring nods, while Blake just tilted her head inquisitively. Not one of them let out a peep, though Pyrrha shuffled slightly, her armor tinkling in the relative silence of the training area they'd booked for the evening. They were all in full combat gear, ready for whatever Jaune decided what they needed to do.

For whatever the least experienced member of the entire team decided...

This was a bad idea.

"Before we get started..." Jaune tried again. "I need to know more about, well, how everyone fights." He didn't know if that was really the absolute best place to start, but it was all he could think of. "We can start with the basics, and go from there."

"The basics?" Blake asked. "What do you mean by 'basics?'"

Jaune hummed. He remembered discussing this with Velvet before, when they were younger, and tried to adopt her words to his current situation. "I want to know what everyone is good at and comfortable with. I don't know everything we're going to be learning here at Beacon, but knowing how to work with each other is probably an important first step. So... I guess I could use myself as an example?"

Ren spoke next. "I think I understand what you mean, but go ahead." Blake and Pyrrha nodded in agreement with the boy.

Their eyes were on him – their questioning gazes still made him feel uncomfortable.

This was hard... the closer to the truth he gave them, the more of himself he'd be giving away. If he told them too much, would they figure out he was a fraud? If he told them too little, and didn't share enough, what would happen?

Jaune let out another sigh, settling on telling them as close to the truth as he could.

"Admittedly, I don't have much in the way of experience. Most of it comes from sparring one on one with my sister when I was younger. It's hard for me to say what I'm best suited for, personally..."

This really was hard... What could he say?

"I fight with my sword, and you guys have seen what I can do with it. I wouldn't say I have much of a style, though. I mean, it's a sword. What's so hard about swish swish stab?"

"From what I've seen, you seem like a..." Blake started out, pausing a moment before she shook her head slowly and grumbled. "Dammit, I had the word. It's on the tip of my tongue." The black haired girl turned to Pyrrha and Ren, while Jaune watched her curiously, waiting for what she had to say. "From what little I saw of when he fought in initiation, coupled with his fight against the Boarbatusk and that Nora girl, he waits for a good opportunity, and then- an _opportunist_."

"An opportunist?" Jaune quizzed. He knew the word, but tried to equate it to fighting.

"I can see it." The redheaded girl standing directly across from Jaune spoke. Pyrrha crossed her arms, adjusting her stance as she looked him over. "Like with the Boarbatusk; you waited for an opportunity – a point you knew you could strike and kill the beast – and then hit it as hard as you could. Typically, it's something someone resorts to when they're facing an opponent stronger than them."

"Or a powerful Grimm one cannot take down easily through normal methods." Ren tacked on.

"Precisely." Pyrrha agreed, smiling to her partner. She turned back to Jaune. "I imagine this older sister of yours you mention is the better fighter."

Pyrrha's comment could have passed as a question, but it was more stated as if she already knew the answer. The blond nodded along. "Yeah, much better. I've never won against her."

"That's where the habit comes from." The championship fighter confirmed. "It's not a bad habit, strictly speaking, but..."

"May I?" Everyone turned to Blake.

"Go ahead."

"To be blunt, it's fine to be an adaptable fighter, but not knowing what you're going to do would make it hard for everyone to work together properly. If we don't know what you're going to do until you do it, then we won't know what to do either."

Jaune winced. Yeah, that was certainly blunt. "What should I do about it, then?"

"We can worry about that later." Ren suggested, drawing the spotlight. "It's something that's only going to matter when the four of us are fighting as a team or just as partners anyways – and I'm sure we'll all have to make changes to be able to work together in that way. For now, though, you wanted to know how we fight?"

The blond nodded dumbly, still thinking upon Blake's words even then. "Just the basics. We can talk about the more complicated stuff like semblances later." He added that last bit, wondering what the reactions were going to be like when he discussed his – or his lack thereof.

"Well, I'm limited to being a close ranged fighter," Ren began, "considering Stormflower's rounds tend to lose a lot of their stopping power at about thirty meters. At that distance, I'm nothing more than an annoyance to most enemies, Grimm or otherwise. However…" The boy hesitated. "You know, it's hard to talk about this stuff without making it seem like I'm bragging in some way."

Jaune just offered Ren an easy smile. "Don't worry about what it sounds like. I just need to know."

The green clothed boy nodded his thanks, clearing his throat. "Well, I'm fairly experienced in martial arts. I can probably hit harder than most of our class, if my target is within arm's reach. I'm also fairly good at getting close to targets to be able to do so."

When Ren showed no signs of continuing, Jaune opened his mouth to speak.

"I-"

"That's-"

Jaune and Blake shared a glance, having cut each other off. The blond chuckled, before nodding to the girl. "Go ahead."

The girl blinked owlishly, before looking to Ren. "That's not unlike myself, though I'd argue I'm more effective at slightly longer ranges, and less effective in the area you're strongest. My style sort of revolves around my semblance, in a sense, so that can wait until later?" She finished with a look towards Jaune, and the blond nodded in return.

All three of them who'd gone then turned to Pyrrha, and the girl seemed to smile apologetically.

"If you guys don't mind..." Pyrrha began, traces of that smile remaining. "It would be easier for me if you asked me questions. Mostly because I don't know where to begin."

Jaune nodded quickly, already having an idea of what he needed specifically at this point. He'd seen her use her rifle in Goodwitch's class, so... "What's the furthest you can hit a target?"

"One hundred fifty meters at a standstill, about sixty if the target is moving, and forty if we're both moving." The reply came out, almost mechanically as the girl clasped her hands behind her back.

Pyrrha's answer drew an impressed nod from Jaune. The blond was also struck with a somewhat sobering realization, thinking about what his team had said so far:

He was the only member of his team without any sort of ranged weaponry.

"You'd be the most effective of all of us at a range, then." Jaune thought out loud, but he looked up to meet the girl's emerald eyes. "But you excel elsewhere."

The redhead nodded. "I can throw my shield and hit someone within forty meters as well, and throwing my spear... probably eighty. But I fight better up close, with my weapons in hand."

"Is there anything you're not good at?" Blake asked.

Pyrrha stood there silently for a couple of seconds, probably trying to think up a response. "Not really." she started hesitantly, "I suppose if there's anything I could work on it would be my endurance. Most of the tournaments I fought in have had a time constraint for the matches, and I've always won with plenty of time left on the clock."

Jaune had been just about to ask about her losses, before remembering earlier. A four time champion...

If there was anything that made him insecure about being his team's leader, it was that. Why wasn't she the leader instead? The boy took a breath, steeling himself as he shoved that thought to the back of his mind.

Right now, he was the leader.

"So, it's become apparent to me that as a team, we have a huge range issue." Jaune mentioned, both distracting himself from his errant thoughts and getting himself back on track. The rest of APBL looked to him, and he met their eyes. "I don't think I could learn how to be proficient with any kind of long-ranged weaponry. Maybe in the future, if it's really necessary-"

Jaune, in the brief moment as he thought about what to say next, had an epiphany.

"I think, as far as us fighting as a team goes, we have two options..." He trailed off, trying to put his realization into words before he blabbed out something completely wrong.

"What are you thinking?" Pyrrha quizzed softly. He could feel the stares of his teammates, as he plotted out what to say in his mind.

Goodness, he really didn't like being the center of attention.

The metaphorical gears in his head whirred, and then finally clicked. "With the four of us as a group, we can either play to our strengths – and focus on what synergy we have as far as those go – or we can try our best to learn how to cover each other's weaknesses..." He looked up and around at the faces of the three in front of him.

The expression on Blake's face was one that seemed interested, but there was something behind her eyes he couldn't quite identify. He blinked, turning to Pyrrha, who was standing across from him. She wore a smile, but... like with Blake, there was something off.

Turning to Ren he noticed it immediately. There was nothing off with the boy's curious expression, aside from that it felt somewhat... forced wasn't the word Jaune was looking for, but it was close.

"Am I..." Jaune started off slowly, the three before him adopting actual, naturally curious expressions. "Am I approaching this whole team thing too quickly?"

His team before him looked amongst themselves, before turning back to him. Pyrrha wore a brittle smile, and Jaune felt his heart sink.

"Maybe a little..." Blake confirmed. "I understand your enthusiasm, but..."

"We should start things a little slower." Ren tacked on, wearing a reassuring – but certainly real – smile.

Jaune nodded slowly, looking towards the ground. His gaze rested just in front of Pyrrha's feet, as he considered the situation. He looked up after a moment, able to at least afford his team a half-hearted smile. "Sorry guys, I got a little carried away."

"It's quite alright." Pyrrha reassured. "We understand, right?"

A hum and a grunt of acknowledgement from Blake and Ren followed shortly, and Jaune sighed.

"Well..." He started off. "We're here now, in full combat gear. I sort of had an Idea of what we were going to do after we went through everything, but that doesn't seem like such a good idea now."

"We could just spar. Split off into twos?" Ren suggested.

"Partners against partners?" Pyrrha then suggested playfully.

"...I shouldn't have said anything."

Jaune and Blake shared a chuckle, looking towards each other. "Fine with you?" The blond asked.

"It's as good a time as any." Blake agreed, nodding her head to the empty side of the room. "I'll take the far side."

As the team dispersed – Ren and Pyrrha going moving away to find their own space, Jaune was left to his own frustrated thoughts, though he wasn't left to them for too long as he watched Blake move.

 _She really is fit..._

Once the black haired girl started to turn around, Jaune made sure to move his eyes upwards, meeting hers as she retrieved her weapon from her back. From the little he'd seen of it, it's one form seemed difficult to use, but that proved not to matter to the girl.

Jaune drew Crocea Mors, working his wrist as he held its still-unfamiliar weight. He neglected to use the shield yet again, as until he learned how to use it, it would just be a burden. Perhaps he could ask Pyrrha to help him out with that, if she didn't mind?

For now, that would have to wait. He settled into a ready stance – legs not too far apart, blade held at the proper angle – and nodded to Blake. "Ready?"

The moment Blake nodded back, he took off. The blond noticed his opponent's eyes widen slightly, before she settled in. Considering they'd just discussed their range advantages, he wasn't about to let her use hers.

Pulling Crocea Mors back at his waist, he lunged forward, aiming for Blake's center. Whether he'd caught the girl off guard with the strike's position, or she'd simply been slow on the reaction, she raised her vicious-looking cleaver to block, but was much too slow.

Jaune expected resistance when the tip of his blade met her midsection.

There was none. The black-haired girl before him seemed to shimmer and fade. The momentum of his strike carried him through her ghostly form, and he stumbled.

The next thing he felt, aside from a shock of pain from his legs as he attempted to stop in place, was a taut length of ribbon wrapping around his arm. He was yanked from his course, and as he turned, he very narrowly was able to step around the edge of Blake's blade, though doing so put him off balance.

As he moved his feet to stabilize himself, he caught the heel of her foot in his chest, the girl kicking him away as the ribbon pulled. He spun, but in a last ditch effort, he pulled his bound arm inwards.

It was safe to say at that point that Jaune had no idea what he was doing.

With his free arm, he swung at the girl as she tried to get close, his fist passing through her yet again. He felt the slack part of ribbon brush against his side before he felt the tug on his arm, and knew Blake was behind him.

He pulled with his right arm, and brought his leg up in a kick. There was a yelp of surprise at the pull, and a grunt when his foot connected. The ribbon around his arm loosened, and he shook it off, backing away from Blake.

He met her eyes – those dangerous amber – and dashed towards her again, growling.

For some reason, he really didn't want to lose now.

His partner moved her arm in a very exaggerated motion, and his eyes traced the thick black ribbon, bringing up his sword on that side, continuing to follow it. When it got close enough to him and he had an idea where it would hit, so to speak, he moved his blade to meet the bladed end, deflecting it. He then turned his gaze to Blake, the girl dashing towards him.

 _Always keep your eyes on the most immediate threat._ Velvet had once explained. _The Ursa across the field isn't going to matter if a Beowolf's jaws are around your neck. If you're not able to deal with one before the other, you'll have problems._

The only issue was he didn't know what Blake would do, or where she'd attack from. Her bladed sheath, or her weird, gun-blade thingy? He knew she could pull the ribbon to make it fire, but what would happen if she did?

What would happen if she did both?

In a situation where it seemed like no matter what he'd be hit, Jaune stepped towards Blake, bringing his sword down and around in an upwards slash. Blake had to skid to a stop, weaving around the blade. Though it wasn't nearly as effective as a direct strike, Jaune reversed the motion of Crocea Mors, bringing it downwards as cleanly as he could, though he could feel his arms burn and wobble.

He connected with the black haired girl's shoulder, and brought his limited momentum down, even as the girl landed a glancing blow on his side. Jaune felt her step past him, though he did not see it. His blade carved through the image she left behind, fading like the others.

It would have taken an idiot to not realize this was her semblance, and he could see how her fighting style revolved around it.

Jaune turned, swinging his sword where she had to have been, just to pass through one of her images again. She was fast. He spun with his momentum, and panicked when he realized he couldn't see her, nor her weapon where he had knocked it aside before.

It was too late when he thought to look up. The first shot caught him in the shoulder, before her cleaver caught him in the other. The force was enough to push him to the ground and he heard the clatter of Crocea Mors falling next to him.

Blake was atop him, and before he could struggle out from beneath her, she had the barrel of her gun pushed between his eyes and her cleaver held in a reverse grip against his neck. "Surrender."

He couldn't even smile up at her, face stretched into a grimace. He'd barely had a chance.

It still wasn't over, though. She'd wanted him to surrender? He calmed as best he could, coating his hand with his Aura. It would certainly be a gamble.

But he really, _really_ didn't want to lose.

Jaune moved his hand in front of his face, the white glow framing it as he pressed it to the barrel of Blake's gun. He felt her shoot, even as he did the same with his other hand, gripping the edge of her cleaver-like sheath. Pushing it away from his neck, he could feel the bite of the blade against his palm, his Aura stopping it from cutting into the skin.

With a shout, he pulled and pushed, shifting the girl to his side. He had no time to look into her widening eyes, fingers scrambling for Crocea Mors' sheath, even as he grabbed the hilt of the blade.

The sides of the sheath-turned-shield flared out, his family's crest pointing towards Blake as the girl fired at him with her pistol, retreating. He didn't need to know how to use a shield to be able to block with it, so he had no reservations about using it like this. He switched his own sword into a similar grip as Blake had earlier when she was pinning him down, reaching up and sheathing it in the deployed shield.

The blond felt a bullet ping off his vambrace as he did, the impact stinging. Blake's pistol had some kick. Jaune considered his options, and realized he didn't have many: He knew how much more he could take, and it left him very little to work with.

Crouching, Jaune came to a realization.

He didn't need to know how to use a shield. All he needed was...

A bigger shield.

Jaune concentrated, pushing his Aura into it, and it began to glow around the edges. A round passed through the Aura, as it swelled and grew. He felt the impact, but the bullet skipped across the floor next to him, significantly slowed.

 _Harden_.

The white glow found shape. It wasn't perfect, or symmetrical, but it was there – stopping inches from the floor and extending just past his head, spread even further out from the sides – and that would be enough.

The blond grinned. He'd come so far, in such little time.

It was then the boy realized his critical failure, and his grin dropped from his face like his middle school math grade.

He couldn't draw his sword. He'd moulded his Aura around it.

He let out a loud groan, the sound reverberating around the training area. In the ensuing silence between both himself and Blake, he heard the sounds of Pyrrha and Ren's fight, but didn't bother turning to look.

"You okay?" He heard Blake ask. "Hurt?"

"I'm fine." Jaune reassured, before his eyes widened. Her voice hadn't come from the other side of his shield. It had come from behind!

As the boy turned towards her, the flat of her bladed sheath collided with the side of his face. Hard.

It honestly took him a second to react through the pain. It wasn't a heavy enough blow to take him off his feet, but holy hell did it hurt. As he blinked the tears away from the impact, he brought his slightly heavier shield around so it was between them, and he stepped forward to shove her away, mind whirring as he considered what he could still do.

The blond felt nothing, however: No shock from any sort of collision. Stumbling at the lack of resistance, Jaune then tripped, falling atop his larger shield, the wind knocked from his lungs. The boy looked to his feet, to find his ankles wrapped in ribbon.

When had she done that?

"Will you surrender now?"

The boy looked up, Blake's slenderer blade pointed towards his face. She stood far enough away that if he would have attempted anything, she'd be able to react. Effectively, his partner was ensuring he couldn't do what he'd done the last time he was at her mercy.

The blond sighed begrudgingly after a moment. "Yeah, I surrender."

Blake nodded, before sheathing her blade and returning it all to her back. She reached for the ribbon that was still attached to his legs, and gave it a tug, tightening for a moment before loosening. "I thought I had you, when you were pinned."

"You did. I just didn't want to lose."

"You certainly caught me off guard. Most people don't move when there's the barrel of a gun in their face and a blade at their throat, Aura or no." Blake scoffed. "In hindsight, I saw it in your face."

The blond hummed non-committedly, turning his head to look at his shield. He willed it, and the Aura scattered in flecks of light, revealing its original form. He pressed the button, and it retracted to its sheath form before pushing himself up.

He caught Blake looking at it, eyes lingering a couple seconds, before the girl turned to the other pair in the room. "Our fight wasn't really short, but I expected theirs to be over already."

Jaune eyes then followed the fight happening not far from where their own had, but the moment his eyes settled on the two fighters, he knew who was – and had been – winning.

Ren's left arm stretched out in some kind of palm strike, and Pyrrha trapped it under her own right arm at the elbow, moving her left leg between the boy's as she stepped into him. Ren made a motion to try and hit her with his free arm, but the girl's shield popped up and caught the blow, before she drove the circular metal into his face.

With their legs in the position they were, Ren tripped backwards, and Pyrrha's weapon shifted into its spear form, point pressed to the boy's chest. She also positioned a foot over his midsection, thankfully just pinning him at the waist with her heel, and not somewhere _else._

She had moved so fluidly. He doubted he'd ever have that much grace.

At their distance, Jaune couldn't hear the words exchanged between the two, but Pyrrha offered the lithe boy a hand up. He took it, and stood. Blake began to walk over, casting a glance back at him, and he followed.

He'd definitely have to do better. Not a doubt in his mind.

* * *

The girl looked up, unable to focus on the matter at hand. Sticking out her lower lip, she blew a stray strand of hair out of her face, and turned her eyes to her leader again.

"Coco, I told you, it isn't like that. If you wanted your minigun to shoot fire, you'd need each individual round to-"

Velvet stopped mid-sentence, scratching at one of her top ears as she reconsidered the idea Coco had presented to her. Technically, her leader's idea was possible – but just expensive and inefficient as all hell. Dust on its own was pricey, and rounds made with it even more so.

Those same rounds, in bulk? Enough for a continuous spray as Coco was considering? Unthinkable. But...

"If you were to maybe, say, have one round every... ten? You could essentially have a similar effect." Velvet explained, leaning back in her chair.

"But you do the same thing with a crystal of Dust, don't you?" Coco asked, nibbling on the end of a pencil as she laid back in bed, notebook in hand. "I mean, with your copies and everything that already seem to defy everything I know about Aura, it works. So why not with physical form?"

It was a good question – and also one the rabbit faunus had answered before. "My Aura takes on the element of the Dust when I use it, so the copy takes on the element. The bullets – made from my Aura – also do the same."

Coco grumbled, and Velvet watched on as dragged her pencil across the notebook, likely striking through the idea where it was written down. "It was a silly idea, anyways."

"It's still possible – just not to the degree you're thinking, I'm sure."

"Hm." Coco turned towards her, playing with her caramel colored hair as she met Velvet's eyes. "Something's up, isn't it?"

Velvet blinked at her leader, genuinely confused. "What?"

"Usually, you're a little more enthusiastic when we talk about ideas. Something on your mind?"

Humming, Velvet played with the skirt of her uniform, neither of the girls having bothered getting changed after classes. Something had been on her mind recently, but it hadn't really been relevant, though. For a while there, when Coco had been bounced ideas off her, she hadn't even thought about it. Not once.

To be honest, she'd actually been getting annoyed that she hadn't been able to say anything yet; or rather, that she'd chosen not to, but there really just hadn't been a good time to bring it up. She supposed, with Yatsuhashi and Fox both out getting food for them to eat in the dorm, she could at least share it with Coco, and then the other two later.

The girl took a breath. "You know that little brother of mine?"

"You mean that friend of yours from your hometown? Something happen to him again?"

"Well... He surprised me, a couple days ago." Was there no easy way to say this? Heck, in a way, she really didn't want to.

Jaune didn't deserve this fate.

"He did?" Coco's eyes widened, before she leaned forwards. "What did he do? Send you a heartfelt message? Is he getting married?"

"Married?" Fire lanced through Velvet's veins for but a moment, before she calmed. "He's a year younger than me, Coco! Why would he be getting married? And there's no way he'd get married without even a word to me about, about... some floozy!"

Coco snorted in laughter, Velvet's face heating up in embarrassment when she realized it was just teasing. "I don't know?" Coco chortled. "I thought people who lived in villages and the like did that. You know, because of the whole, uh... security risk thing."

"You're not wrong, but... _ugh_." Velvet, ran a hand through her hair, huffing as she bounced in her chair. "Okay, Jaune's _not_ getting married. He's not that irresponsible." At least, she hoped not.

If he was she'd probably freak out, and there'd be a lot of yelling.

"So he sent you a heartfelt message?"

"Coco, _please_." Velvet chuckled. Her leader smiled apologetically, putting her hands together in a pleading gesture. Despite her 'hard style,' Coco was a different person in private. It had taken some getting used to.

"Yes, yes. Sorry. So what was it, then?"

"He's..." Velvet cringed, preparing for Coco's reaction. "He's here."

"Here?"

"At Beacon. He's a first year."

A few seconds passed, as Velvet's words sunk in. Coco's expression showed nothing, at first, before her face twisted in confusion. "Here. At Beacon?"

"Yes."

"This is the same guy who piddled himself when you told him a bedtime story?"

"Tell him I told you that, and I will literally never talk to you again." Velvet blushed.

"When do we get to meet him?"


	6. Learning Curve

**Hello one and all! It's been awhile, and for that, I apologize. This could have been out a day or two earlier, but I came down with some kind of flu-like sickness. Entire body hurts, swallowing is difficult... The works.**

 **Anyways, I hope you all enjoy the latest chapter of Cut From the Same Cloth!**

* * *

 _Beta: Knight of Cerberus_

 _"We're going to make her curvy even if we have to force feed those nutrients to her."_

* * *

The lecture hall was abuzz with life and chatter, the mass of students seated above and behind Jaune's team talking away without a care. Of course, that was just the way it sounded to the blond. Who was he to know whether or not they cared? Some might care too little, others too much.

The professor that walked in front of the long desk his team sat at glanced between all of them, flipping through the booklets nested in her arm. "Here are your tests from the first day." Professor Peach called out. Finding the one – or ones – she was looking for, she pulled them from the stack. She slid one in front of Ren, passed Jaune his, and then flipped through the stack some more, and retrieved Blake's, giving the girl her's. Pyrrha's was last, and then Professor Peach moved on without a word to them, already flipping through the stack for the next quiz.

Jaune picked his up, not sure what he quite expected, but found himself blinking at the high mark; higher than he expected, at least. Though, he could admit, there wasn't much on the test he couldn't make an educated guess on. A lot of familiar terms he'd heard from Velvet, and more than a couple he'd remembered from classes back at his old school.

He shrugged, letting the booklet down on the desk before him, turning to Pyrrha on his right. "How'd y-"

The redheaded girl's forehead collided with the desk, loud as thunder, and all the chatter in the spacious room ceased.

"Oh, come on!"

Turning from Pyrrha for a moment, that particular remark was from further down the room, coming from another one of the long desks to Jaune's right. The boy leaned forward to look past Blake and Ren, who were also leaning forward curiously. A decently attractive girl was staring at her quiz with wide eyes, mouth agape.

Wait, wasn't this quiz worth next to nothing? What was with their reactions? The boy turned back to Pyrrha, the girl's head tapping against the desk with a steady, stiff rhythm. "What did you get?"

"Thirty-five..."

Out of fifty? That wasn't bad. Not at all. Jaune put a hand on the redhead's shoulder. "It's still a passing m-"

"...percent."

"Oh." Well, there went attempting to reassure the girl. He glanced down at his sheet, and the circled number there. His own mark was close to double what her's was. A solid sixty-four percent. "Hey, remember what she said? This was just to see what we knew, right? It's fine."

The tapping of Pyrrha's circlet against the desk stopped, and the redheaded girl sighed. She pulled her head back up, looked to the ceiling, and tried to wear a smile as she turned to him.

"I just don't like failing." She said

A full chorus of groans came from behind and to the right, and he glanced up there to see a team of girls he didn't recognize yet, with the professor standing before them. Clearly, they hadn't done well either.

But it still didn't matter, right?

The blond turned to the dark-haired members of his team, who whispered to each other quietly. "How'd you guys do?"

"I... did okay." Blake let out quietly, though her hands didn't move from covering the red ink on the face of her booklet. Jaune had his suspicions, but didn't bother voicing them. Ren, on the other hand, just showed the cover of his booklet to Jaune. An eighty-one. Jaune nodded appreciatively, giving the boy a thumbs-up. The blond had his sole male teammate figured for someone on the more intelligent side of things. Hard to say why, though...

Now that he thought about it, why did Ren seem so intelligent? Was it the stereotype that the quiet, calm, and collected one was inherently intelligent? Was it just the way he looked? Acted? Was he just really knowledgeable about only Dust, and not as bright with regards to other things? In the past week Jaune still didn't really have a firm grasp on his team.

As the questions ran through Jaune's head, the boy thought to the others he met at Beacon so far. He didn't have a firm grasp on anyone, really. The way they walked and carried themselves... he'd been basing a lot of what he knew of them off of his observations. Yang, in the example he'd immediately thought of, was outspoken and dressed rather... he couldn't really think of a way to label her, but she didn't seem intelligent, strictly speaking; neither at first glance, nor in her mannerisms that he'd witnessed first-hand.

...That was rude of him, wasn't it? But it really did seem that way to him. He needed to stop thinking like that. Blake kept to herself and read books, but that didn't make her smart...

Wait, was it rude of him to consider that she might not be smart by contradicting what his initial opinion of her was? And what about Pyrrha? Nora? Ruby? Weiss?

The blond scratched his head.

"Err... hey Ren, are you smart?"

The black-haired boy quirked an eyebrow at him, and the blond's partner turned to look at him, her half-lidded eyes not even taking him seriously.

"Really?" Blake seemed to ooze sarcasm from her pores.

"What? I meant what I asked." The blond crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I'm not stupid. I can do words good."

"...Right."

Jaune scrunched up his face in displeasure as his partner went back to looking through her own quiz – the girl still hiding the mark on the cover. The boy looked up to Ren, and just got a slight shake of the head. "I wouldn't say I'm smart. At the least, you could say I am booksmart. Retention: I read things, and they stick."

"So... you have a good memory?"

Ren nodded, turning to face the front of the room, where Professor Peach finally moved behind her own desk, no longer laden with the marked quizzes she held before. "I remember a lot of things, yes."

Jaune hummed, turning back to the front of the room as well, though continued to watch Ren out of the corner of his eye. He knew so little about them, still. His teammates.

They needed to do something. He did. The boy took a breath, glancing over at Pyrrha. Just the other day, with what he considered his own personal failure in trying to get them all to train together... he wasn't sure what they could do.

It was a bit of a conundrum, for him. His team had all essentially agreed that he'd been trying too hard to... bring them together? Was that what he'd been trying to do?

Wait... That was it!

Jaune pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, sighing. It was that easy, wasn't it? When he opened his eyes again, he realized he'd drawn the curious gaze of Pyrrha. He turned to look at her. "What's up?"

"Oh, sorry, it's nothing. You looked deep in thought."

The blond boy nodded as he hummed an affirmative. "Yeah, I just realized something."

It was more like he remembered something, really: a team doesn't need to get along to work together, but it's always more fun when they do. It wasn't something he'd really learned first-hand, but something he knew, nonetheless. Something he'd thought about, in regards to the approach towards his team.

He'd wanted his team to work together, and as leader, he'd thought that was his first step. In hindsight, his first step couldn't have been more obvious. They'd all agreed to be friends, but they weren't there yet... They didn't just spontaneously generate a bond of friendship between each other, as if bound by a couple sentences said when they were all sat in a circle.

That would be stupid.

"What did you realize?" Pyrrha asked semi-quietly. Jaune shook his head in response, his eyes not leaving Professor Peach, who seemed to be waiting in the passive-aggressive way an elementary teacher of his had: staring down whoever was left talking, until they all clued in they needed to shut up and let the adult do the talking. However, Jaune could see the teacher get more and more visibly irritated as the seconds passed.

Finally, the room was completely silent.

"Now that you're all done discussing urgent business, we can begin today's lesson." Peach's airy voice was gentle, but the woman seemed to radiate displeasure. The moment passed, and the professor began to write on the chalkboard, the clacking sound resounding in the silence of the room. Jaune leaned forwards intently, prepared to take notes. "Now then, we're going to start with the most important topic with regards to Dust. Safety."

Jaune smiled a little to himself, remembering arriving at Beacon in the first place. He wouldn't have been surprised at all if Weiss would have turned and stared at Ruby, were they in the same class.

"Dust is the power of nature given physical form. While generally stable, it's not strictly speaking safe nor wise to be holding a crystallized lightning bolt in your bare hands-" There was a giggle from somewhere else in the room "-nor to keep a substantial amount of Burn beneath your bed in your dorm room. Does anyone know the golden rule regarding the safe handling of Dust?"

A couple hands went up around the room, including Ren. Jaune himself knew, but didn't bother raising his hand as so many others already had. That, and he wasn't the type to volunteer to be ridiculed if he actually was wrong, even if he didn't think he was.

"Miss Nikos?"

Pyrrha had not raised her hand, and Jaune turned to her as the girl's green eyes went wide. "...I, umm... the... is uh..."

"No?" The professor acted as if she'd actually expected an answer – where she likely hadn't – before turning her eyes up to the desks behind them. "How about you, Miss Filigree?"

"Always ensure the safety of yourself and those around you?"

"Quite." Professor Peach smiled and nodded, turning around to scratch that onto the chalkboard. "Long before people truly understood Dust, it was handled with the utmost caution. Before it became the backbone of Remnant's civilization, it was heavily policed: There used to be contracts, licenses, much stricter regulations on transport and storage... Nowadays, you can just walk into a store off the street and buy a bag full of raw Burn Dust. Well, provided you are at the least a registered student at a combat school."

Jaune nodded along, remembering asking his mother about that. Since he wasn't a registered student somewhere other than a primary school before... making it into Beacon, he'd have needed to take a course to buy even the tiniest of crystals. Not that he'd needed Dust nor tried to buy any, but it was an important lesson.

"Speaking of which, what's the minimum age someone is able to purchase Dust in Vale?"

The blond raised his hand for this one only because he didn't want Pyrrha to be called on again, if she didn't know – though out of the corner of his eye, he did see Pyrrha's hand go up. Professor Peach's eyes passed over his team, and lingered elsewhere, further back.

"Mr. Lait?"

"T-twelve years old?"

The professor shook her head slowly, her pink hair bobbing as she pursed her lips. "Not quite, no. Mr. Arc?"

"Thirteen" Jaune called out, and the professor nodded.

"Correct. While students can enroll in combat schools as young as twelve for their first year, they are not fully recognized as registered students until they enter their second, at which point they can purchase Dust." The professor scanned the room. "How about the minimum age for someone who isn't a registered student of a combat school?"

The class was silent, and not a hand was raised. Jaune wasn't sure of the answer himself, but he had a guess.

"Miss Nikos?"

 _Again_? Jaune turned to Pyrrha, the redhead of his team caught completely unawares, though her pencil was in hand, taking down notes of what Professor Peach had been writing on the board.

Pyrrha's hand shook.

"Um... _uhh_..."

This would be a long class.

* * *

Pyrrha took in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"We'll wait for you outside?"

The redheaded girl turned, giving a fragile half-smile up at Jaune as the boy stood, tucking his notebook beneath one arm. Past him, Blake and Ren were also on their feet, packing their books into their bags.

"Sure. I don't think she'll keep me for long... I hope."

The moment Jaune turned to talk to Blake and Ren, Pyrrha took the opportunity to sigh. She glanced to her left, at Professor Peach, who was talking to another one of Pyrrha's classmates, perhaps answering a question, or the like.

Pyrrha clenched her hand into a fist to stop it from shaking. What did the woman have against her? Three times, she'd been called on when she most certainly hadn't raised her hand.

Three times. And she had never been called on when she had raised her hand for the answers she did know! She closed her eyes, taking another calming breath.

It was frustrating.

The girl felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up. Jaune gave her a reassuring nod and a thumbs-up, before walking out from behind their desk, following Pyrrha's partner and Blake. Ren did shoot her a look as well, but not much else.

After she'd been embarrassed like that, called on repeatedly and being unable to answer... What were their opinions of her? Pyrrha remembered before when it had been revealed to Jaune in their dorm who she was – or rather, what she'd done. She had felt an odd sort of pride, then. It was awkward for sure – like it always was – but she was glad Jaune hadn't gone full fanboy on her. He'd been impressed, and amazed, but he only seemed to respect her more, not revere her.

In the same vein, the other two knew who she was already. Ren knew of her past victories, and apparently, Blake had as well. Had they been treating her the way they had because of that, or was that just the way they were? She couldn't tell.

But now?

She wasn't one to be concerned with her image, but Jaune's eyes, body language, tone of voice... he was pitying her.

She didn't like it at all. It was frustrating.

Being distracted by her own thoughts, Pyrrha hadn't noticed the room was now entirely empty, with the exception of the source of her current torment. The tall, pink-haired professor quickly wiped down the board and stretched, before turning with a smile.

The woman's smile wasn't naturally terrifying, but was terrifying because of how natural of an edge it had. It forced Pyrrha to blink, to make sure she wasn't just imagining it. Professor Peach stopped a short distance away, and crossing her arms.

"Do you know why I wanted you to stay behind?" The room around them was quiet: not strictly for the lack of noise, but because the professor had finished speaking. There was no one else there, but the silence made it seem like the entire class was still there with them, waiting on her answer. Again.

"I... I believe so." Pyrrha started off slowly.

"I believe you do as well." Peach confirmed, glancing towards the exit of the room for but a moment. "Then... do you know why I kept calling on you in class?"

"No." Pyrrha had wondered that all through the remainder of class, once the professor had asked her to stay behind and ceased to ask her any other questions. She had no good answers, but plenty of guesses. The only conclusion she realistically could come to was that the professor hated her, for whatever reason that was.

But the stare the professor was giving her? There was no antagonism, or hate, or dislike. No, none of that, just...

"I'm disappointed in you."

The professor's words hit like a brick. "What?"

"I expected better from you." The professor adjusted her stance. "I'm not talking about the test itself, either. You knew how poorly you did on the quiz even before you handed it in. Sure, you didn't have the exact grade, or know exactly what you got wrong, but you knew you failed. I saw it on your face, that first day."

Pyrrha hesitated, but nodded solemnly.

"And then you did nothing."

The redhead looked up into the professor's eyes, confused. Peach sighed, shaking her head.

"I wanted to see how you handled your poor performance. It was up to you to look back on the results of the quiz you already knew you botched. You failed, so why not take initiative and learn, rather than wallowing in your failure? After realizing you couldn't answer most of the questions on the quiz, I expected you to improve in the short time you've had since. Looking back on today's class... you didn't. You didn't take initiative. You didn't even try to improve. That's hardly the attitude I was expecting from a champion."

Pyrrha was at a loss for words. She opened her mouth, dry lips pulling apart as she breathed out. "What did you expect me to do?"

"Well, for starters, your two teammates did better than most of the rest of class – especially you and Miss Belladonna. You could have talked about the test with your team, comparing answers, asking each other questions and filling in the blanks for each other. But again, you didn't even do that. If anything, it seems like you bitched about the unfairness of it all, and then continued with the rest of your day. If you had the initiative I thought you might, perhaps you might have been a little more prepared for class today than you were."

"I-I'm sorry..."

The professor sighed.

"I targeted you, I'll admit that, but I did it to show just how much room you still have to improve. Not so I could see it, or so the rest of the class could see it, but so you could see it."

She didn't respond to the professor's statement. She couldn't. It felt as if her throat was swollen shut.

"You came to this school to be a huntress, but in your head you're still a tournament fighter. It's not about entertaining people anymore, or winning the crowd, or the thrill of victory. It's about helping people – helping each other – and you need to start thinking like it."

All Pyrrha could offer was a stiff nod. She could remember her first thoughts having seen the energetic professor: that she looked far too young to be a teacher at Beacon.

She wasn't eating those words. They were being stuffed down her throat.

"I'll... do better." She managed to squeeze out.

"That's all I'm expecting from you."

* * *

Sitting atop his mattress, Lie Ren was unsure what he should do. Should he say something? Did he go over to his partner, and start up a conversation with her?

In the past two hours since she'd left Professor Peach's class, her expression hadn't changed from the impassive frown she seemed to have. Any questions asked of her, and any conversations turned in her direction, were given non-committal, non-verbal commentary.

Either she had something on her mind and didn't want to talk, or she wanted to talk but didn't know what to say.

Whichever it was, Ren had been watching. For the past two hours, he'd glanced away when it even seemed like she'd turned in his direction, then went back to watching her. When he wasn't fast enough, he'd just offer her a reassuring smile that she'd half-return, then look away.

There was nothing worse than probing eyes when someone wanted to be left alone with their thoughts, aside from outright prying. He'd seen both sides of that, and understood how much damage such a simple thing could cause. Nora could be difficult at times, much like anyone, but she was also someone who Ren knew how to handle, after so long.

A four-time regional tournament champion, who was likely one of the most talented fighters of his generation?

He didn't even know where to start, and as his partner for the next four years, Pyrrha was not someone he wanted to be on less than amiable terms with. All wounds mend with time, of course, but...

The boy took a deep breath through his nose, not letting it show externally, though no one was really watching him. Their classes were done for the day, but with Pyrrha as quiet as she'd been – along with Blake, as usual – there wasn't much to be done.

Jaune, their leader, had been as awkward as Ren felt, except the blond couldn't hide it. If he was trying to, he was failing. Even now, the boy seemed to jump in surprise, before digging his scroll out of his pocket. To Ren, it was the most interesting thing to happen in the past twenty minutes.

"Um... if it's not too strange of a thing for me to ask..."

Ren blinked, realizing the words he was hearing were coming from the redheaded girl who was sitting on the edge of her bed in front of him. He perked up, even as Blake and Jaune – the blond still looking at his scroll, confused – turned towards her.

"What's up?" Ren asked quietly, but not softly. If there was anything that would probably bother the girl from what he knew, it would be walking on eggshells while she was like this.

"Why have you been so quiet?" Blake tacked on, more bluntly. Ren shot her a look, but the girl didn't seem to notice it.

"I've been thinking of what Professor Peach had said to me after class." The redhead shook her head, as if ridding herself of her current thoughts. "Sorry if I've been putting a damper on things."

"No need to apologize."

"It's fine."

Ren shot Blake another look as they both spoke out at the same time. This time, Blake's eyes turned to his, and the girl dipped her head in some form of apology. The boy gave her a short nod, and met Pyrrha's eyes, the girl's mouth partially open.

"What's the Theory of Form?" Pyrrha asked.

The black-haired boy blinked, crossing his arms to mirror his legs as he looked up to the ceiling. It had been a question on their quiz – one he both knew the answer to, and assumed Pyrrha had not. Was she asking him...?

He supposed he could play tutor.

"It was originally presented by Augustus Folly. To put it simply, it's the idea that all Dust is the same at the base level, and that where it's found determines the properties it has. For example, Dust in the deserts of Vacuo could be Wind or Burn Dust, because of the gusting winds, or the scorching heat."

"But it was disproven shortly after it was presented, right?" Jaune called out from across the room, putting his scroll down on his bed. Ren blinked up at him, nodding. "I think I got half-marks for that question. All I could remember was Folly's Folly."

"That's what some people call it, yes. When Burn Dust was found below the tundra north of Mantle, the theory was effectively disproven." Ren continued. "The only reason it was accepted in the first place is because there'd been no concrete evidence against it at the time. Every mine before then had conveniently provided evidence supporting the Theory of Form. It's actually what our current scientific model is derived from, if I remember correctly."

"And that is?" Jaune shuffled in his spot.

"Rather than the idea that something can happen, or is absolutely irrefutably right... The only way you can truly prove something is by proving it's false." He met the three other pairs of eyes in the room individually. "To supply evidence that it is wrong. We know the Theory of Form is wrong, even when we used to think it was right. But now, we cannot make that mistake again. Anything we know now that can be considered right, can be wrong – and vice versa, of course – but for the scientific community, it's better to assume something is impossible and be proven right than to think something is right, and be made a fool of."

Pyrrha blinked, and after a moment, spoke. "I see. I'll try to remember that."

She wasn't going to remember that. Not all he said, at least. Honestly, he needed to take a breath.

"I think that's the longest I've heard you talk." Blake pointed out, voice tinted with a shade of mirth. The boy snorted softly in response.

"It seems awfully... pessimistic?" Ren turned to look at Jaune, the blond's lips pursed. "I mean, I can see how that applies to the Theory of Form, but I don't think people should spend all their time trying to prove someone else is wrong."

Ren blinked at Jaune, before looking over to Blake. The black-haired girl met his eyes and shrugged, and so Ren turned to Pyrrha. The girl's green eyes stared back, posing a silent question to him. One he could assume was also on the blond's mind.

Ren crossed his arms. "It's only for scientific studies, really. That being said, you wouldn't jump off a skyscraper to prove you could survive doing it. You'd just assume you couldn't, right?"

"I mean, of course that makes sense." Jaune guffawed. "I'm just saying it doesn't apply to everything."

"He wasn't saying it applied to everything." Blake pointed out.

Did they misinterpret what he said entirely?

"Yeah, but I don't consider whether getting up out of bed in the morning is impossible or not before I do it."

Yes. Yes, they did.

"How did you end up doing, Blake?" Pyrrha interrupted. He silently thanked her for her timely intervention, but also didn't like where it was going. "Professor Peach mentioned Jaune and Ren did well on the quiz, but we need to make an effort to improve."

"I... umm..."

Blake's answer was cut off by a soft tapping noise, just barely loud enough to interrupt his teammates for him. Whoever was at the door knocked again, the same soft repetition barely echoing around the now quiet room.

"I'll get it." Jaune hopped to his feet immediately, though Ren could only see the blond move out of the corner of his eye, his sight trained on the door. A thought momentarily distracted him, and so he afforded a quick glance towards Pyrrha. Ren could tell the girl was already feeling better. Less tense.

He'd talk to her later, but for now...

Ren quirked his eyebrow as he watched Jaune turn the doorknob, then back away, opening the door and letting whoever was on the other side into the room without even checking to see who it was. He'd been expecting this? Ren sat up a little straighter.

A girl walked in. She seemed about their age, dressed in Beacon's uniform much like Pyrrha and Blake were. The next thing Ren noticed were the long pair of rabbit-like ears atop her head, the fur a shade of brown matching her hair.

After that he noticed the expression on her face. Not a forced smile, but not a natural one either. Awkward, shy, and maybe a little uncertain, but a moment later, standing not a few strides from the middle of the room, her expression settled, and she took a breath. There was nothing beyond that. She didn't say a word, just standing there.

"Uh... alright so... everyone?" Jaune started out, stepping up beside the girl. "This is my sister."

* * *

Blake blinked multiple times as her eyes scanned the girl who'd just been introduced. The way she stood awkwardly, yet rigidly in the middle of their dorm room reminded her of someone who wasn't used to being the center of attention, but knew they were, and did their best to deal with it. It wasn't the only thing the black-haired girl noticed, of course.

She couldn't stop herself from glancing up to the tall pair of ears atop the stranger's head.

Jaune's sister was a faunus?

Blake blinked again, crossing her arms to look somewhat natural. It most certainly caught her off guard – and brought more than a few questions to the girl's mind. She looked up at Jaune, eyes narrowing as she inspected him closer.

He didn't have ears like the girl, that much she could tell just from a glance. She looked back to the new girl, staring at the ears sticking up. A rabbit, if she had to guess.

"H-hello. I'm Velvet."

"Nice to meet you." Pyrrha spoke out rather energetically, despite how quiet and moody she'd been earlier. Probably some kind of automatic response she'd developed over her time in the spotlight, Blake figured.

"Hi." The terse response was Ren. When the girl's eyes turned towards Blake, all she could offer was a somewhat stiff wave and a smile. The cat faunus pursed her lips, glancing up at Velvet's ears again when the girl turned to Jaune.

What kinds of traits could a rabbit faunus have? Obviously, the ears were a big one, but Jaune didn't have those, clearly... Did he have a tail? She hadn't seen a sign of anything like that. Did he have a trait she'd have noticed at all?

She racked her brain, trying to remember everything she could about faunus genetics, but ultimately gave up, realizing it would be better to see what she could find out about her partner from his sister, provided she got the chance.

Blake moved closer, but only to a comfortable distance. Whereas she'd been standing earlier, she instead pulled the chair from their dorm's supplied desk, and sat in it, crossing her legs. She watched closely, studying the girl as she whispered something to Jaune.

Velvet turned back to Pyrrha, and gave her a smile. "It's nice to meet you... um..."

"Oh!" Pyrrha's greeting smile grew into a grin. "I'm Pyrrha."

"Pyrrha." The girl nodded with a smile on her face. "Right."

Blake watched Velvet carefully, trying to pick out everything she could about the girl. The last thing she wanted was to be caught staring, really, but who wouldn't be staring at someone they were just introduced to?

"I'm Blake." She called out from where she sat, prompting the girl to turn towards her. "Jaune's partner."

Velvet seemed to perk up at that, clasping her hands in front of her. "Please, keep an eye on him for me."

That got an honest smile out of Blake, though the girl's mind instantly went somewhere else. "Don't worry, I'll keep him from walking through any doors he shouldn't."

Her comment got a groan from Jaune, a blush from Pyrrha, a brow-raise from Ren, and a curious glance back at Jaune from Velvet. The brown-haired girl turned back to Blake and tilted her head slightly. "Sounds like a story?"

"Nope." Jaune outright declared, putting his hands on his sister's shoulders and steering her towards Ren. "No story."

Blake covered up her own chuckle, even as Jaune shot a glare back at her. She raised her hands in a mocking surrender, and the blond shook his head.

As Jaune turned to Ren, and the black-haired boy introduced himself to Velvet, Blake remembered what her partner had said before and the puzzle pieces fell into place. She could hit herself for not having remembered it sooner.

Jaune and Velvet weren't blood related.

The other day when they'd all sat around the dorm, almost as they did now, he'd mentioned that, hadn't he? Blake drew a breath through her nose, huffing to herself in frustration. She tried to remember everything about that conversation, but it seemed so long ago. They weren't half-sister and half-brother, or anything like that. He'd... chosen her as his own sister, or something like that? Family, but not related by blood. Close friends, as close as siblings.

Blake bit her lip, looking up at Velvet's ears again. Still, he'd never said anything about her being a faunus, had he? That would have been something she'd have remembered for certain.

In her thoughts, Blake realized she missed Ren's introduction – and subsequently, anything else said between the others in the room. As Velvet turned to smile at them all again, the black-haired girl really hoped she hadn't missed anything important.

As Jaune and his sister stood there, herself, Ren, and Pyrrha sitting, the room observed silence. Blake opened her mouth to talk, even as her eyes met Jaune's and Pyrrha's, and for a brief moment, Velvet's. She looked to Ren, and the boy shrugged back at her.

"So, uh..." Blake hated having to be the one to break the silence, but honestly, unless somebody said something they were going to be there for a while. "Jaune's sister?"

Part of Blake still couldn't quite see it. Nothing as extravagant as not being able to fathom something of the sort, but...

"Well, he calls me his sister." Velvet nodded. "I never had siblings of my own, and Jaune was... stubborn enough that it stuck, even when I didn't think it would. Our parents figured he'd grow out of it, but after a while, I started to feel like his sister too. We've been friends for what seems like forever."

"I don't even remember far enough back to recall a time where Velvet wasn't around." Jaune confirmed, before scratching the back of his head when Velvet turned to stare at him, awkwardly not meeting the girl's eyes. "Or, well, okay, that was an exaggeration but it's been a long time."

It was... strange. Jaune, as far as Blake was aware, was human, and Velvet was a faunus, yet they acted as if... as if there was nothing different between the two of them. No tension. It was what she wanted for the rest of Remnant, wasn't it? Equality. Humans and faunus to treat each other with a mutual respect. To cooperate. Now, here in front of her, was a prime example of it: a human and a faunus so close they were like siblings.

It just seemed so foreign to her.

"How'd you meet?" The question was posed by Pyrrha, the redhead resting her chin across laced fingers, having moved to lay along the length of her bed. She had a pleasant smile on her face, an impressive contrast to the expression she'd worn since Peach's class. The thought brought Blake's own concerns regarding her mark back to the surface, but she pushed them back down, watching her partner and Velvet with interest.

"You mind if I tell them?" Was the question Jaune posed, the brown-haired girl shrugging in response.

"I'll correct what you get wrong. Go for it."

The blond boy nodded, before taking a breath. "It was a Wednesday afternoon wh-"

"It was Tuesday."

Ren snorted in amusement, even as Blake felt the smile creep up onto her face. She liked this girl already. Jaune himself paused, blinked, took a moment to think, and turned. "...Was it Tuesday?"

Velvet nodded slowly, as if Jaune were equally slow.

"Alright, so it was a warm, Tuesday afterno-"

"It was scorching. I wouldn't say it was just warm."

"You know what? Maybe I should let the one with a photographic memory handle this."

"Eidetic memory." Velvet corrected.

"...I'm just going to shut up now."

The girl scoffed. "Oh, don't be like that. Besides, you tell stories better than I do."

"Sorry to interrupt, but I've never met someone with an eidetic memory." Ren noted, Blake and the rest turning to him. "Mine's not perfect, but it's easy to recall numbers and facts and the like."

"Oh?" Velvet's ears seemed to perk up. "It's not like it's difficult for me to remember facts and the like, but it's more like a movie playing back in my head."

"You know, my oldest sister has a perfect memory too when it comes to pointing out everything I did wrong..." Jaune seemed to muse aloud, Velvet turning back to him with a smile.

"I think that's all of your siblings."

A moment passed, and what Jaune said registered. "Wait, what?" Blake had though he was the oldest. Had she misheard him?

"They're terrors, that's for sure."

Velvet chuckled. "Jaune, you should be nice to your sisters."

"You're one of them, you don't get to say that."

The rabbit faunus pouted. "You don't want to be nice to me?"

Jaune turned his face up and away from the girl, as if he knew looking at her would convince him otherwise, and rubbed the bridge of his nose, sighing exasperatedly. "Can I just tell the story already?"

"Yes, yes. Sorry." The brown-haired faunus confirmed with a giggle, stepping over to Jaune's bed, climbing on top of it and sitting, legs crossed.

"Thank you..." Jaune breathed out, before drawing another breath in. "It was a somewhat hot, somewhat warm Tuesday afternoon. Summer day, sun was shining in the sky... maybe a couple clouds passing overhead. Sound good so far?"

Velvet hummed an affirmative, ears nodding along.

"Right. So, I'm what, maybe four years old? I'm playing on the back porch with some kind of toy my mom bought for me, when I hear something. It sounds like squeaking, or whining or something from the direction of my father's garden so, being the brave soul I was, I decided to go and investigate."

Blake, along with both Pyrrha and Ren, turned to look at Jaune's sister.

"It's his story." Was all the girl said with a mirthful smile, smoothing out the fur on her ears.

"Imagine my surprise when I find a girl in a dress with a little bit of dirt on her face, crawling through the cabbages. She hadn't been squeaking or whining, like I thought: She was playing Huntress, and, umm... how did you say it back then? Making Grimm death noises? Of course, I saw her ears, and I was curious. She was the first faunus I'd met."

"Oh, this is the best part."

"So here comes my dad, calling out from the porch where I was earlier, asking what I was doing in the garden... I told him that I found a rabbit. The moment Velvet's head popped up over the potatoes... I'll never forget the look on his face."

That sounded... cute, almost. Blake couldn't keep the slight smile from curling her lips.

"Dad called her parents, invited them over for dinner, and that's how it all started." Jaune finalized with a grin. "We don't have enough time for us to cover everything we've been through since then. We'd need weeks. No, months. Actually..."

Jaune turned to her, his blue eyes piercing as they met hers. Blake wasn't sure what kind of glare it was he sent her – nor how he had executed it so subtly – but she felt ashamed. For what, she wasn't sure. His eyes softened, and he turned back to Velvet. "Why don't you tell them about the water balloon fight with my sisters? I want to talk to my partner about something."

Blake blinked, now on the spot. She didn't have a clue what he wanted to talk about, but Velvet shot her a glance before looking up at Jaune. The black-haired girl froze up. Had Jaune's sister figured it out? Did she let him know somehow, subtly?

Would he expose her to the rest of their team?

The rabbit faunus looked between Ren and Pyrrha, even as the two teammates gave Blake questioning glances of their own. Her own eyes fell on Jaune, and the boy nodded towards the door. He wanted to talk in private too. There was that blessing, if the topic they were going to discuss aligned with her own suspicions

Blake stood, even as Jaune made his way outside, leaning into the room to hold the door for her. She took his place holding it as the boy stepped out into the hall, turning and looking both ways to ensure it was empty.

The door clicked behind her.

"Uh, sorry for making this..." The boy winced, but his eyes had the same steel they held when he'd glanced at her earlier. He scratched at the back of his head, something Blake was beginning to realize was a nervous habit of his. "I guess it's an assumption?"

There was a momentary silence, where Blake didn't realize she needed to respond. After realizing he was waiting for her cue, she made a permissive gesture with her hand, and Jaune nodded, taking a breath, and closing his eyes.

The blond opened them.

"Are you a racist?"

Blake blinked repeatedly.

"Uhh...?"

"You... the entire time Velvet's been here, you've kinda been staring at her ears. At least, every time I look over at you, you are, so..."

 _Wait_...

"If you have a problem with faunus or something... look, I get it. I don't like it, but I get it. Tensions are rising, and with the White Fang out doing terrorist-y stuff, there's lots of reasons for humans and faunus to not get along, but Velvet is my sister. I don't care about any of that crap. She's someone I care about, and if you can't comprehend that... Well, you're going to have to live with it. As much as her and the rest of her kind have to. You get that?"

 _What!?_

Did he seriously just call her a racist? Or at least imply that what she was doing was racist? She was a faunus! How dare he! He...

Didn't know that.

"Just so we're clear, I guess." Jaune sighed, stepping past her. There was nothing hostile about the way he moved, but she shrunk back slightly. "If you need some time to think about it, I'll just head on back in-"

Jaune rattled the doorknob, before he sighed, reaching into his pockets. He patted himself down, and his eyes went wide.

"Uh, actually..." He turned to her with an apologetic smile, "do you have your scroll on you? I... think I locked us out."

... _What?_


	7. A Great Day

**Hey everyone, here's the next chapter of CFtSC. Not a whole lot I really feel like saying right now, kinda tired. Could definitely use a lot more sleep. I didn't even get to go to the petting zoo they had on campus today between classes - I had to take a nap just to retain my focus for later.**

 **Expect more updates soon! Or well, sooner than they have been. 'til later!**

* * *

 _Beta: Rising Dragon_

 _"Like an actual petting zoo, or a furry convention?"_

* * *

Jaune Arc strode through the cafeteria doors with a smile on his face and the rising sun at his back. Taking a breath in through his nose, the blonde couldn't help but draw in the wonderful smells of the cafeteria on an early weekend morning.

Today was going to be a good day.

The boy had been the last of his team to wake: All the beds had been emptied by the time he got up, their dorm room otherwise unoccupied. After lazing around in his pajamas for a few minutes and then going through his morning routine, he'd thought of how to spend his day. Hunger struck, and so he dressed and set out.

That, of course, brought him to the mass of milling huntsman and huntress hopefuls. Jaune's eyes passed over most of his peers, trying to spot anyone familiar. No one caught his eye – not from his team, nor even anyone from his classes... or at least, anyone from his classes he'd actually talked to.

With a soft sigh, the blond headed straight for the back of the line-up leading to the counter that divided the cafeteria from the kitchen. As he stood there, bouncing on his heels, he watched as student after student left, staring at the odd meals that passed him by.

If he could even call some of them meals, really...

Pursing his lips, Jaune wondered what was up with that, wincing as a girl walked by with an entire head of boiled cabbage balanced on her tray – though she seemed pleased to have it. Perhaps he'd ask Velvet about the food situation at Beacon later.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Jaune took a step forward, smiling at the old cafeteria lady in greeting. Should he ask for something in particular? What would he do if he got another swordfish? Or his very own head of cabbage?

"Ah, good morning young man." She grinned, Jaune just now noticing the older woman was missing a front tooth.

The blond tried not to stare. "Good morning."

"Here, take this."

Jaune couldn't believe his eyes as the tray was pushed across the counter to him.

"A whole turkey?" He looked up for an explanation.

The cafeteria lady simply stared him down, rubbing her hands on a towel. She had a distant look in her eyes. Or rather... it seemed more like she was looking through him.

"Excuse me..."

The boy felt someone tug on his sleeve, and he turned.

Jaune had to angle his eyes down to meet the pair of thick framed glasses looking up at him. The girl who wore them looked frail, as if she'd fall over if hit with a stiff breeze.

"Yes...?"

"I do believe I'm next in line..." The words were spoken in a light, airy tone, but as they hit Jaune's ears, they made his face heat up in embarrassment. He quickly shuffled to the side, with a hushed apology.

Jaune's eyes zeroed in on the tray in his hands once more. A whole turkey...

What was wrong with this place?

Another tug on his sleeve. It was the glasses girl again.

She didn't wait for a response, her own tray balanced flat on the palm of her hand. He couldn't see what was on it, her full head of tar-black hair directly in his line of sight. Instead, her fingers remained clinging to his sleeve, dragging him in the direction of the tables.

"Come sit."

Jaune was forced to follow the girl, his feet hitting the floor quickly as he struggled to keep up with her quick gait. He didn't dare try to pull back, for fear such a sudden movement would pull the girl off her feet. Yet, she had the strength to pull him along. Perhaps she just looked frail...

Dragged towards an empty table, the blond's arm was finally released. He stood awkwardly balanced, watching as the girl before him set her tray down, and took a seat. With one final glance around to see if he could spot any of the members of his team, Jaune sat, sliding his tray in front of him.

"My name's Prim. May I have a leg?"

Blinking, it took Jaune a moment to realize the girl was referring to the bounty that sat atop his tray. Far too much for himself – and sure to cause health problems if he hoarded it all.

Adjusting her glasses, Prim smiled. "I'll share, of course. It would only be fair."

Jaune finally took notice of what was on Prim's own tray: an assortment of roasted vegetables.

...Did the cafeteria lady just give him the turkey, and Prim the vegetables that had been in the same roaster?

"Sure. Take more than that, if you like."

"Gladly."

After splitting their trays up somewhat, Jaune looked down at his plate – the first thing he'd seen in weeks that looked remotely like a balanced meal. He still had far too much turkey, though.

Licking his lips, the blond reached for his fork, and set about devouring his meal.

Prim was quiet, in the sense that she didn't speak, only ate. Jaune glanced up at her multiple times while consuming his meal, but every time she was in the process of chewing, not unlike himself.

The seats around the two of them began to fill, as well. There was far too much turkey and leftover vegetables for Prim and himself to handle. Before he knew it both Jaune and the diminutive girl across from him were trading with the newcomers as well. Eventually, all that was left on Jaune's tray was a plate of bones, and the last vestiges of what he'd managed to obtain from the others.

Wiping away the remaining crumbs from a muffin he'd received in exchange for some breast meat, Jaune sighed contently, patting his stomach. It had by far been the most diverse meal he'd had in the entirety of his time at Beacon thus far. The tastes! The smells! The laughter of the table around him!

Jaune looked up with a smile on his face. Prim still sat across from him, giggling at something said by a taller, pale skinned male. She turned to Jaune as she stood, stretching her back. She didn't say anything to him, just offered him a slight, friendly wave before walking off with her empty tray. Prim was gone, but the joviality and friendly air never left the table.

"Say, you don't really look all that familiar. You're a first-year?"

Jaune blinked as he turned to a brunette who'd sat beside him earlier. Her large green eyes shimmered with a smile.

Her eyes were big.

Too big.

 _Holy, she's close_!

"Y-ye _b_." Jaune replied, wincing as he bit his tongue. The girl seemed to be leaning towards him, her bangs bouncing softly as she nodded in confirmation. He really hoped his breath didn't smell bad.

"Thought so. Most first-years don't really get the cafeteria's system yet, but it's good you're picking it up early. Thanks for the turkey."

 _The cafeteria's... system_? _What's on my knee_? _Oh, it's her hand_.

... _Her hand_?

"What do you say to hanging out today? You from Vale? I could show you around?"

 _She's getting closer_!

"We could even just go back to my dorm if you'd like. Actually..."

Jaune's mouth opened and closed, only able to let out heavy breaths as the girl's hand slid up his thigh. It took every ounce of his willpower to turn his eyes from the brilliant green that seemed to fill his vision, and when he did, he found no reprise – no one else was aware of his plight in the slightest. His thighs slammed together when he began to feel her hand curve inwards.

" _Hah_..." He was only able to let out a labored breath. The encroaching brunette slid even closer, to the point her chest pressed against – nay, wrapped around – his shoulder.

A single hand was Jaune's savior; fingers wrapping around the girl's ear and twisting with such force she squealed.

"That's enough, Mari. The poor boy is terrified."

Jaune panted, the hand of the girl next to him retreating quickly to pry the newcomer's fingers from her ear. She swatted and whined, even as Jaune's rescuer's grip remained.

"I apologize for my sister's ac-"

As if the blond remembered he could move, Jaune practically leapt from his spot on the bench he'd shared with his seducer and scrambled away as fast as he could.

He didn't look back.

* * *

For Yang Xiao Long, it was shaping up to be a nice, quiet day. Nearly everyone who knew her might say she could be wild at times, always on the hunt for excitement or – in failing at finding it in its raw form – things to do that got her blood pumping. She herself couldn't even rebuke the fact: she knew better than anyone exactly what she wanted.

But after however many days with the rest of team VLWR... She really needed a break.

As she drew her fingers through her meticulously brushed hair, she didn't find a single snag. She'd feigned sleep for what seemed like an hour as her teammates bickered, Weiss stalwartly refusing to work out that morning. Yang had to give it to the heiress – she was stubborn, but in the right ways. It had eventually paid off, and the rest of her team filed out the dorm, Yang overhearing Ruby say they should let her sleep in.

Bless her little sister. Just... bless her.

Much like the truthful assumptions about Yang's thrill-seeking ways, many would assume one thing about Ruby and Yang as sisters: that they got on like a thick coating of peanut butter and jam. That was true. Completely true.

As for the argument that morning, the blonde obviously agreed with Weiss – her legs were still killing her from the last workout session – but hadn't voiced her opinion for two reasons: one, it would have blown her cover as a peaceful sleeper...

And two, it would have gotten Ruby involved – and put the part-time troublemaker right on Nora's side.

Yang and Ruby got along well, but they were still sisters: they still argued over things, though they were usually relatively minor. Ruby's silence while Weiss had debated with Nora proved she'd been indecisive – and if Yang had taken Weiss' side, backing Nora into a corner? Ruby would've flocked to Nora's side, she was sure.

It would have been a longer argument - and one they might have even lost. That would have meant more squats, more push-ups, more lunges, more...

The blonde shuddered, reminded that Nora had only put off the workout session. They'd be tackling it tomorrow, or maybe even the next morning.

Weiss had only bought them more time.

It was with that fear in mind that Yang's steps carried her through Beacon's courtyard, hands laced behind her head. She idly glanced towards the cafeteria as she walked along, not really hungry yet, but knowing she would be. She pondered it for a second more-

The doors to the cafeteria exploded open, a familiar head of blond hair stumbling through it. Even at this distance, she could tell Jaune was in a full-on panic.

And headed right for her.

Uh oh.

Yang's muscles tensed up, and as Jaune made to pass her, she reached for the boy's arm, gripping his bicep. Putting her weight on her toes and taking a step to the outside, she spun with the taller boy's momentum and stopped him. Her hands on both of his shoulders, Yang held him in place.

He was shaking?

A moment after her deduction, Jaune stopped shaking, and practically collapsed. Though her legs burned all the more for it, Yang crouched slightly to support his weight.

"Whoa now, you okay there?" She looked over her shoulder, seeing the cafeteria doors swing closed. If there was anything pursuing him, the doors remained closed. She pushed the boy up and steadied him.

He seemed so out of it, eyes staring dead ahead – mumbling on and on about green and turkey. She tried snapping her fingers in his face, shaking his shoulder. No response. There was only one thing Yang could do.

She punched him hard, right in the gut. Jaune crumpled around her bare fist before falling backwards to the ground, clutching his midsection with his mouth gaping like a fish.

A few seconds of silent, writhing pain later, he stopped moving.

"Ow..."

"You okay?" Yang knelt down next to him. That hadn't been too hard, right?

"So long as you didn't rupture something, yes..." Yang could see Jaune wince as he pushed himself up slightly. The girl offered him her hand.

Pulling the boy up, the blonde reached up and patted him down, dusting him off. She eyed the way sweat seemed to trail down his jaw, and had to ask...

"What happened to you?"

"Well..."

* * *

"So, you got a giant turkey from the cafeteria lady, a girl about this tall-" Yang held her hand parallel to the ground at bust level "-dragged you to a table, you traded parts of your meal with senior students, and then you were sexually assaulted by someone who gave you a muffin?"

"No, the girl who gave me a muffin and the girl who, uh..." That was cute. He didn't want to say it. "Touched me... They were different people."

"That..." Yang had to take a moment to breathe in. "You didn't just dream this after you fell asleep at the table or anything? Some kind of repressed sexual desires? You're a guy living in a dorm with two girls and one rather effeminate looking guy. I'm sure-"

"N-no! And Ren? Gods no!"

"He is kinda good looking."

"No!"

"I'll tell him you said he was ugly."

The way Jaune sputtered another refusal, Yang couldn't help but laugh. It was like having a male Ruby to tease, the reactions ten times more amusing. She even remembered the night before initiation, and how much of a good time that was.

As the duo walked down the hall of Beacon's main building, Jaune had explained things in such detail it was almost impossible it had been a dream, but she teased him over it regardless. It was too good an opportunity to pass up. Whether or not Jaune had embellished parts of the story a little, Yang wasn't about to doubt him either, even when he mentioned the... attention he got from the older girls.

She could see why someone might be attracted to him, not that she was. Taking it a step beyond flirting was a little farfetched, but not unbelievable at a place like Beacon. Especially not with their seniors.

As her dad had said, the longer someone spends at Beacon, the stranger they seem to get.

That wasn't all she learned after a rather embarrassing talk from her father about the so-called dangers of sticking a bunch of teenagers in coed dorms – hell, he'd even pointed out that he didn't even need to throw in the coed part. Not even the dorm part, really. She'd wondered what he meant, asked, and then really, really wished she hadn't.

The whole conversation – nay, lecture – Yang had her hands over her ears and eyes squeezed closed. She didn't want to hear from her dad what happened during his first year at Beacon, of all people! She shuddered as she tried to avoid thinking about it anymore, failing.

Distraction!

"So you ran?"

"What else was I supposed to do? Let her have her way with me?"

Yang shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe."

"Really?"

What was so unbelievable about that? "I don't know, was she cute?"

Yang racked her brain, trying to remember what she knew about Jaune. Did he have parents who didn't warn him about stuff like this? Yang was sure he'd have clued into something the moment the pre-initiation sleepover happened – she even figured that, at first, he came over to hang with them that night for just that reason, but he'd done nothing then.

Was this boy just that oblivious?

That had to be it. The kind of situation Jaune was just in would only be that panicking for someone who wasn't prepared, or if informed, shy. Jaune wasn't really the latter.

All Yang herself knew was what she'd have to do if there were any untoward advances on her or her sister...

"Well, yeah. I couldn't believe it was happening. I didn't know what to do. The girl's twin sister came along and stopped her, but I was so out of it I panicked and ran as she was apologizing."

Yang whistled. Twins? Hopeless. Utterly hopeless. But the blonde supposed he did the right thing.

Maybe? Who knows.

"That's when I ran into you."

"And boy were you ever out of it." Yang chuckled. What to taunt him with now? He was just so easy! "...Were you even really out of it? To me, it looked like you were headed right for me. What, blondes are more your type?"

"Well, n-"

Yang grabbed his arm, a large grin on her face. It was awkward, as she had to match his step, but she pulled his arm into her chest, and they both stopped.

"How did the bad girl touch you, Jaune?"

Jaune looked down to her with an eyebrow raised. Yang blinked. She squeezed her breasts around his forearm.

No explosive reaction. The boy's lips parted.

"Well, to answer your first question... not really?" The taller boy pursed his lips for a moment, humming. "So long as they have nice hair, I don't mind what color it is."

It... what? Yang looked down to where she had Jaune's arm securely between her bust, before looking back up to the boy's face. He wasn't even looking at her now!

"Though, that isn't to say that the hair would be all I care about. A girl could be bald, and I'd probably still like her."

"Uhuh..." Yang gave the boy's arm another squeeze.

"To answer your second question, she pressed right up against me, and wrapped her, well... chest around my arm-"

 _You mean just like this?_

"-And she rubbed her hand up and down my thigh, before curving it inwards, between my legs." Jaune shuddered.

"R-really now?"

He had to be faking it, but Yang wasn't about to lose! The blonde girl reached down and put her palm right against the front of the boy's thigh. She snaked it inwards, until she was rubbing the inside of his thigh.

 _Wait, what the hell am I doing—_

"Y-Yang?"

The blonde girl's blood froze in her veins. She immediately let go of Jaune, standing up as if her spine suddenly locked straight.

"Ruby!" Yang smiled. _Please tell me she didn't see, please tell me she didn't see._

"Speaking of hair though, I really like yours Yang." Jaune continued, unaffected, as her sister strode towards them. "I can tell you take good care of it. Must take a lot of time too."

"Oh, no, it's... nothing." Yang managed to rattle off, Jaune's words not really registering as Ruby stopped before them.

Ruby's cape seemed to swirl as she put her arms up on Yang's shoulders, hopping on her toes. Her expression was tinted with something she imagined her own face was like when she was worried about Ruby. Sisterly concern, maybe?

Whatever it was, it didn't stop Yang's face from being beet-red. She'd been so caught up with teasing Jaune – and flustered at her own failing...

There's no way that wouldn't have some sort of effect on a sane man! No way!

"Did you rest well?" Ruby looked over her shoulder. "Hey Jaune!"

"Ruby. You're as lively as ever."

The younger sibling hummed affirmatively as she nodded, before she turned her bright eyes on Yang. She squinted as Yang stared back. She usually got that stare from Ruby when she wanted something.

What did she...

It clicked. Yang nodded reassuringly, giving Ruby her best thumbs-up and winning smile. "Yes! Yes, I slept well."

"Good!" Ruby exclaimed cheerfully, letting go of her shoulders and skipping backwards slightly. She leant forwards cutely and nodded again. "Weiss convinced Nora to let us have the day off from team duties, so I made sure the other two let you sleep in."

"Aww, thanks sis!" Yang reached out and put an arm around Ruby's shoulders, dragging the girl close to herself. As she did, she took a couple steps away from Jaune, bringing her diminutive sister along with her.

Once she was sure they were far enough away from the boy – even going so far as to looking over her shoulder, seeing his confused expression – Yang bent down to whisper.

"Okay, what did you see?" She asked.

"What do you mean, what did I see?" The picture-perfect innocent smile. Too perfect.

"Don't play dumb, sis..."

"You were clinging to Jaune? Yeah, dad said before we left for Beacon you might start to do stuff like that. He also said—"

"He said what?" Yang couldn't believe her ears.

"He said it was perfectly natural, and that if you ever wanted time alone, by yourself or with anyone else, to give it to you." Ruby seemed to hum in thought, stroking her chin. "I thought it was really weird when he started crying in frustration mid-explanation, though."

Yang stared ahead blankly as Ruby finished speaking. The blonde sighed, pinched the bridge of her nose, and shook her head. Dad had gone so far as to warn her of all the supposed dangers of dorm life at Beacon, while he'd told Ruby to let Yang essentially do what she needed to do? And without beating around the bush?

"Dad also said he doesn't want any grandchildren until you're at least twenty-four with a posting that doesn't involve fieldwork."

The blonde mashed her face into the palm of her hand in embarrassment.

"Okay, that's enough, thank you..." Yang sighed as if Ruby's words had just aged her at least that much.

"You sure? He had one last thing he said to me."

Yang's eye twitched, and a moment later she relented. "Okay, go ahead."

"He said that, if possible, he'd like to meet whoever you... ahem... sleep with. So he can put the... fear of god in them?" Ruby shrugged as she looked up to the ceiling. "I don't know, something like that."

Yang let out one more colossal sigh.

"That doesn't really make sense to me. Does that mean he wants to meet Nora and Weiss? Technically, that big sleepover before initiation, a lot of people slept with us."

"Ruby, I don't think that was what he meant."

"Oh?"

"Think about the connotations of literally everything else you just said."

It took Yang's sister a couple seconds to clue in, her silver eyes suddenly growing wider. "Oh..."

The blonde girl stood straight as she released Ruby from her grip, but not without ruffling her hair, much to Ruby's duo turned back to Jaune, and watched on as he re-tied his shoelaces. He stood, and his gaze alternated between the both of them as Yang stepped forwards.

"Sorry, I needed to have a talk with my sister about something." Yang mentioned, Ruby walking up beside her as she stopped in front of Jaune.

"Just sisterly things!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Nah, I get it." Jaune smiled, rubbing the back of his head.

Yang opened her mouth to carry the conversation forward but stopped herself as she felt a slight churning in her gut, stomach rumbling just slightly.

"Err... I haven't had anything to eat yet..." Yang admitted sheepishly. She winced as Jaune went pale as a ghost.

Ruby spoke up. "Me neither! Wanna eat with us, Jaune?"

"I already ate." The blond said in as level a tone Yang figured he could muster. "You two go enjoy yourselves."

Yang nodded slightly. She was still a little worried about the guy, but considering what happened when she'd been with him over the course of the past ten minutes or so...

And she'd been trying to avoid excitement today.

"Well..." Yang put on her best smile, and patted Jaune on the shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up about it, or anything. If you ever want to talk, come find me."

As Jaune nodded, Ruby looked between them, completely lost. Yang couldn't hold in her chuckle, patting her on the shoulder as well. "Come on, Rubes, let's go get some food."

* * *

Jaune watched the sisters go with a smile on a face and a light, content sigh. The two most certainly reminded him of his younger sisters – Yang especially. Sometimes, she even seemed a little... motherly? Perhaps that wasn't the best word for it. Maybe just more like a big sister.

Now, not a big sister like Velvet, but a big sister like... like...

No name came to the boy's mind, but he could picture a familiar figure. No one he knew personally, but from a movie or a show he watched when he was younger. It wasn't an actress or anything either – the series was animated. A cartoon, or something. The blond scratched his head, before he huffed, walking along. He could remember that much, but the rest eluded him.

He'd remember the name when he had no idea why he'd thought of it in the first place, he was sure.

Jaune hummed a few key notes to himself as he pushed his way outside, and then he took a stuttering step into the courtyard.

Dammit, now what was that song he just hummed? The boy squinted his eyes together tightly, rubbing at his forehead.

Now this was actually aggravating, as the same notes kept repeating in his head, on and on.

"What's wrong with me?"

As Jaune opened his eyes, he blinked, looking out across the courtyard. To his surprise, resting in the shadow of a tree, kicking her legs back and forth was Nora.

He remembered the conversation they had recently, and took one step. Then another. A few seconds later, his feet had carried the blond across the courtyard to where the leader of VLWR lay on her front. When his shadow stretched over a flower she seemed to be staring at intensely, the girl pushed herself up by her elbows, and looked up to him.

A pleased smile stretching across her face, her legs continued to kick back and forth. "Jaune!"

"Hey Nora." Jaune found the excitable way she said his name made Nora's smile all the more contagious. He'd been about to ask why she wasn't with her team, but he already knew where Ruby and Yang were headed. Unsure of what else to say, the blond leaned back as he crouched then fell to the grass, crossing his legs beneath him.

To his surprise, Nora didn't seem too eager to initiate conversation, resting her chin in her palms as she continued to stare at the flower. In the awkward silence that continued, the equally-awkward blond glanced from Nora's burning-orange hair to the flower, and back.

"Nature can be so pretty."

The blond nodded along slowly. Jaune could certainly agree with the girl, but to him, it really was just a flower – yellow, with small petals, and otherwise unassuming. "You think so?"

Nora hummed, now resting her chin atop crossed arms as she laid flat against the grass. "I do think so!" She held her hand out to Jaune, and then made a sweeping gesture towards herself.

Jaune just stared at her blankly, until she scoffed. What was that extravagant sweeping gesture supposed to convey to him?

"Come down here. You'll understand." It was like the girl read his mind, how perfectly timed her words had been. Jaune shrugged, then decided to indulge the girl.

The blond sidled up next to his fellow leader and lowered his chin to the dirt. He blinked before he drank in the view, letting out a slight gasp.

It looked like art. The flower was perfectly framed against the distant mountains, with a slight gap between the stem and one of the buildings in the middle ground. Beacon Tower even gave a rooftop a surreal, slightly green tint. Jaune wasn't an artist, nor someone who could really appreciate art – far from it. He barely knew how to use crayons, never mind analyze the deeper meaning behind something. But the view Nora had shown him was the perfect blend of nature and-

"Doesn't it look like the flower could totally fall on the library?" Nora whispered excitedly. "Like, if the flower was actually that big, it would crush the whole thing."

"Uhh... What?"

"Oh, come on, Jaune!" Nora rolled her eyes, before Jaune could meet hers again. "You can't tell me you've never squeezed your fingers together, pretending to crush someone's head?"

Jaune's mouth was agape, and the only thing he could think about aside from how absurd that sounded was how nice Nora's breath smelled.

That split-second realization reminded Jaune of how close the girl was.

"Yeah, no, I've never done that." Jaune turned away slightly, the tops of his ears a little warm. Of course, his mind chose to remind him of what he saw after his first fight in Goodwitch's class too.

"Really? Like-" Nora brought her hand in front of Jaune's face and put her fingers in a pinching position. "Squish?"

"No, never."

Nora simply giggled. Jaune coughed into his sleeve. Wasn't this the same girl who'd threatened to end his existence at some point? Or was he misremembering?

All this thinking was beginning to make his head hurt.

Jaune's head thudded softly against the grass, and he groaned.

Today really had to be some kind of messed up dream... The blond pinched his face and winced.

"You're doing it wrong." Nora chastised. "You don't pinch yourself."

Jaune turned to look into Nora's eyes, an eyebrow quirked and a dream disproven. "You don't say?"

Nora's face was barely an inch from his, grinning. Finally, his brain started to work properly again, remembering everything since earlier that morning with clarity: what happened at the cafeteria, his discussion with Yang. The details flowed fresh into his mind, as if all those events just happened. Emotions coursed through him without restraint.

Nora let out a long, droning hum. "...Okay!"

"O... okay?" Jaune let out a moment later, as if Nora's voice cleansed him of his tense feelings. The two of them were at a respectable distance again, Nora up on her knees.

"Did you want to have another leader talk, Jaune?" Nora asked, bouncing in her spot. "Talk about our teams?"

"Oh, sure."

* * *

Blake Belladonna liked reading.

That phrase alone wasn't much – just a sentence that described her in as few words as possible, if you would. Or rather, described her fondness for the feel of a book in her hands, a story just waiting for her to peruse.

Blake loved reading.

Less words, but more impact. Love was a much stronger word than like, though it didn't always apply in the same cases. As Blake sat, thinking about her predicament, she found herself thinking more on how to best describe it, eyes straying from the pages to roam over the two teens in front of her.

Blake loved reading – so much that even sitting here with her two teammates, she was still reading.

But, then again, they were in the library. If they didn't want her to read, they probably could have taken her anywhere else to hang out. Besides, it's not like they expected her to interact with them. Ren seemed to be pointing to a passage in a textbook, Pyrrha's green eyes following the digit.

There was raucous laughter from across the library, and Blake narrowed her eyes in that direction, before returning to her book, but it wasn't long until she was unable to follow the words on the page all that well. The black-haired girl nibbled on her lip slightly.

Right now, Blake could not read.

Her partner's face flashed in her mind. The blond hair, the toothy smile... And that look of misplaced disapproval. He thought she was racist?

Blake hadn't been able to correct Jaune's suspicion at the time, completely dumbfounded that she, Blake Belladonna, of all people hated the faunus. Why had that been the deduction he'd made initially?

Sure, when Jaune's sister Velvet had visited the dorm, Blake may have been a little bristly; though... and she hated to admit it to herself like this, she was always a little bristly. Did staring at Velvet's ears – and according to Jaune, continually glancing at them – really come across as something so... terrible? She could have been curious, or maybe just interested. But no, the boy had to jump straight to the racism angle.

Perhaps it was just Jaune being defensive of Velvet, but people like that were a problem all in their own – even if she'd have welcomed the support herself.

Blake tried to think about what it would be like if she wasn't wearing her ribbon, her ears were being stared at. Was it racist? No, not at all. Not in her eyes. Would it make her uncomfortable, if people were staring at them all the time?

Okay, maybe a little...

The girl rubbed at her eyes, leaning back in her chair as she closed the book. Blake supposed there was nothing wrong with Jaune looking out for his sister, but she was going to have to make some corrections. Speak to him about it.

In an attempt to alleviate her wandering mind, Blake's eyes focused in on the textbook spread between Ren and Pyrrha. At the angle she sat at, it was impossible to read upside-down with the book at more than an arms-length from her, but she could at least make out the diagrams; and, of course, eavesdrop on the duo.

Was it eavesdropping if it was an open study session she just hadn't really felt like paying attention to until now? Maybe not, but she felt she had a good enough grasp on Dust as is...

"So, the threshold for Dust to pass beyond shift point is... entirely dependent on its mass?"

"No, not just the mass." Ren answered with a wave of his hand. He pointed at one of the diagrams in the textbook. "It needs the-"

"Oh, I meant density!" Pyrrha spoke up, cutting Ren off before covering her mouth with her hand.

Blake watched on as Ren smiled to himself, then nodded. "Yes, the density."

The black-haired faunus, on the other hand, just looked at the upside-down diagrams, tilting her head.

Yeah, no, she was either really going to have to start paying attention when Ren and Pyrrha decided to study, or maybe even just crack open one of her textbooks herself, one day here. She hadn't understood a word they'd just said.

"What about you, Blake? You ready for our quiz?"

It was like someone poured a bucket of ice water on her head.

"Yes." She lied immediately.

Okay, never mind cracking open a textbook one day here, she needed to get on it, immediately. She had to hold in a sigh of relief when Ren just nodded and accepted her answer.

"Oh, Blake, have you heard from Jaune yet?" Pyrrha's emerald eyes blinked at her expectantly as she turned her head to meet them. Giving the redhead's question a moment of thought, Blake hummed before flicking her scroll out.

"No, nothing from Jaune. I guess the last we heard was Nora's message about being in the courtyard with him?" Blake glanced up to Ren as a follow-up to her inquiry, the male member of their team present nodding.

"And nothing from Nora since then." Ren pointed out. "About... a half an hour ago now."

"We should probably track him down, shouldn't we?" Pyrrha offered, Blake nodding slowly as the girl looked between her and Ren. "It's... weird without him here."

Blake felt like nodding again, this time to herself. She had to give Jaune that: he may have been trying too hard as a leader, in her eyes at least – but the one thing he ensured is that when he wasn't there, they knew he was missing. Or maybe it was because the three of them were together, and he was the only one missing.

Then again, there wasn't really a time Blake could remember in the past week where they had any other combination of three-to-one. It was a weird concept, but maybe they were growing closer as a team, in some way.

Either way, for now Jaune wasn't there.

"Update from Nora: Jaune isn't with her now. He didn't say where he was going."

... And now, where could he be?


	8. Get Over It

**Hey everybody, I'm here! That's right! Me!**

 **I'm here! Hahaha! Haha... Haaa...**

 **The amount of time this chapter has been in production and the amount of time spent on it are grossly disproportionate. I'm talking months of some(most) of you guys waiting for it, and me hardly working for a good... let's say three months? Yeah. Long ass time to not be doing much of anything, you don't have to tell me. However, the good news is I'm back in a writing mood after so long away, so I'll be chugging along here best I can.**

 **Anyone care for specifics? This chapter had its first words on July 4th, 2018. Far too long ago, all things considered.**

 **Anyways, here you are! Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Beta: Knight of Cerberus_

 _"Uncultured philistine."_

* * *

Pushing open the door to his team's dorm, the last thing Jaune expected out of the pitch-black room was a pair of amber eyes to bore into his own. He stood frozen stiff, like he'd just been told he'd be home alone for a few hours, responsible for looking after all his little sisters. Easing the door open a little more let light into the room.

The beds furthest from Jaune were occupied, Ren and Pyrrha beneath their respective sheets as they slept peacefully. His bed was expectantly empty, but the last one was host to his yukata wearing partner, arms and legs crossed as she watched him intently. He let out a sigh of relief.

"Where have you been?" Blake hissed quietly, clearly not wanting to disturb their teammates. Jaune scrunched his face up in response and shrugged, pulling out his scroll. He slid it open, able to navigate by its glow as he gently closed the door.

"You wouldn't believe me." He mumbled in response, making his way over to the bathroom. The blond pulled the door closed slightly behind him, only leaving it open a crack as he flicked the light on.

Fleeing from the cafeteria, running into Yang, chatting with Nora, passing out on the rooftop for a couple of hours, waking up to a bird about to peck his eyes out... He studied himself in the mirror, looking just as worn out as he felt.

The bathroom door swung open a little, and Blake's face poked through the gap. "Try me."

"I was given a whole turkey for breakfast which led to me being sexually assaulted at a cafeteria table. I spent the rest of the day trying to cope."

"You're right, I don't believe you."

"I asked Velvet about it and she just smiled and said 'These things happen'." Jaune didn't even need to turn to Blake to imagine the look on her face. "Right? It's nuts. I never thought Beacon would be like this."

The silence that descended after Jaune spoke lasted a moment as the boy tilted his neck, running his hand along his face as he looked at his reflection. He turned on the tap, leaned down, and splashed his face.

A cough. "That's weird. Almost like this isn't, you know, a school full of hormonal teenagers who're entering a career where they'll be risking their lives day and night, never knowing when something might go wrong."

Jaune stared pointedly at Blake as he grabbed a towel, the girl putting a finger on her chin as she looked around the bathroom, humming innocently. The blond shook his head and dried his face, cheeks warm. As he hung the towel, Blake continued:

"A shame everyone here is built like an athlete as a result. But of course, if we weren't in peak physical condition, that could prove dangerous." Blake tapped her chin repeatedly, Jaune watching the slender finger. "I hear the workload in the later years is pretty intense, too. I wonder what our seniors do to relieve all that stress."

"I get it." Jaune rolled his eyes as he retrieved his toothbrush and toothpaste. He squeezed the tube and ran the water again. "I should have seen it coming, is what you're saying."

"Most definitely." Blake confirmed. "Maybe she thought you wanted it."

The blond shook his head slightly and began to brush his teeth.

"Was she cute?"

Jaune answered with a deadpan stare instead of words. Even Yang had asked that. He moved his head back and forth in a somewhat affirmative motion. He couldn't deny that she'd been a looker.

"How far did you go?"

Blake continued to ask questions for the next minute or so, and for each one, Jaune provided a non-verbal, non-committal answer. Every question led to one more explicit. He spat into the sink and rinsed out his mouth, wiping his lips. He looked in the mirror, cheeks and ears bright red, before turning to Blake – who at some point, walked into the bathroom completely, door closed behind her.

"What's warmer, the mouth or-"

"We didn't do anything." Jaune practically whined. "She groped me, and I ran away."

"Oh." She sounded disappointed. "Why didn't you just say that, then? When you said you were sexually assaulted, I just assumed it was more than a little touching."

 _A little touching?_ "I was brushing my teeth, I couldn't just answer you." Jaune replied, putting his toiletries away. "Besides, something like that is still assault, you know. It doesn't have to be, uh..."

"Intercourse?"

Jaune rubbed his eyes, sighing. "Yes, that."

The girl crossed her arms. "So, was you walking in on Pyrrha in here also sexual assault? I'm sure you saw some-"

"That was an accident. This was on purpose." A second later, his head snapped towards her. "And I didn't see anything with Pyrrha."

Blake huffed, crossing her arms. "How do you know it wasn't an accident? With this other girl, I mean."

"What? She... touched me, Blake." He gesticulated, fingers wiggling.

"Right. I guess she did." Blake responded, opening up the bathroom door and stepping out. She adjusted her yukata and closed the door with an echoing click.

The door opened.

"I'm not a racist." She whispered, retreating once more. With a thud, Jaune was alone in the bathroom again.

"What?" What did that have to do with anything?

There wasn't an answer from the other side of the door. Glancing at his reflection once more, Jaune toyed with his hair for a moment. After giving it a few more seconds, he turned off the light, opened the door, and made his way over to his bed, feeling around in the darkness. He found the foot of Blake's bed – closest to the bathroom – and used that to find his way.

With a glance over, Jaune could tell Blake was under her covers. Jaune glanced over to her the moment he made it to his bedside, putting his scroll down.

He couldn't exactly tell, but it seemed like he held eye contact with the girl, even in the darkness. The weird feeling lingered up until he pulled his top over his head, tossing it at the foot of his bed.

She was still looking. He could feel it.

"Aren't you gonna sleep?" He asked quietly, still cautious of waking their teammates.

"Aren't you?" Her whispered response seemed like it died just beyond his ears.

Jaune just shrugged, worked the button of his pants, and dropped them to his feet.

It took Jaune a moment before he moved his hands in front of his hips, cheeks warm as his heart pounded softly. "Where do you think you're looking?"

A quiet chuckle as the girl turned over. Jaune watched her carefully, before moving his hands.

Why was he concerned with which way she was facing? Aside from the shaft of moonlight trickling into the dorm, he could barely see anything himself. Blake would have been able to make out his silhouette at the most.

That didn't stop Jaune from quickly shuffling into bed, pulling his sheets around him. He narrowed his eyes as they slowly adjusted to the light, seeing the back of Blake's head and the bow atop it at last.

He pulled his lips into a narrow line and closed his eyes.

"Night."

"Night, Jaune."

* * *

"So I think it'd be best if we switch sparring partners."

Those words from Pyrrha sent a shiver up the blond's neck, his eyes managing to catch Ren's frantic nodding in his peripheral.

"Then... you and me, and Blake and Ren?" Jaune asked, mentally preparing himself.

Pyrrha nodded. "That, or Blake and I partner up, and you two can go against each other."

Jaune mentally cursed himself for volunteering to be Pyrrha's sparring partner as he looked to Ren, and Blake standing on the other side of her. Considering how fervently Ren had volunteered for the change – and how spectacular a fighter Pyrrha already was – he pondered the request as he considered himself a sacrifice in a sense.

After all, this was something Pyrrha brought up with him as only a suggestion. He was their team's leader, so the decision fell to him. What would Blake think if he took on Ren as a sparring partner, while leaving Blake to face off against Pyrrha until they switch again?

As he realized everyone was watching him intently, Jaune searched for his answer under their gazes.

"Yeah, let's switch..." He offered up. All the points Pyrrha had raised made sense, but she specifically mentioned how remaining with the same partners would only settle them into a rhythm with said partners, and hamstring their growth.

Though it would be a painful and arduous ordeal, sparring with Pyrrha would only help him get stronger, right?

Resting his wrist in the crook between his sheath and his hip, Jaune nodded. "We'll go with Pyrrha's suggestion here, alright?"

Jaune could visibly see the tension leave Ren's shoulders.

"Then," The renowned redheaded girl smiled, "would you mind taking me on, Jaune?"

Though it felt like his muscles resisted it, the blond nodded. "That's fine."

Pyrrha's smile seemed to gleam as Jaune turned back to Ren and Blake, who nodded to him in return, turning and pacing away to the other side of the large room.

A loud clang hit Jaune's ears, and his head whipped around to find the source – though he knew what it was already.

They didn't have the room to themselves. He watched on as Yang threw another punch, Nora twisting her massive hammer to catch it on the shaft. An explosion of pink separated the two, and Jaune forced himself to turn his eyes from their fight, and back to the championship fighter he'd be squaring off against.

"Maybe one day we can have joint training with VLWR?" He suggested as Pyrrha hummed. She seemed to also be watching their neighboring team.

"That's not a bad idea, but we already fight them in Ms. Goodwitch's class. She doesn't seem to pair teammates with each other, so it's probably best we do that in our free time when we can."

Jaune nodded along, though he hadn't realized that until his teammate had pointed it out. She was right.

The redhead tilted her head back and forth, her ponytail and the chains of her circlet swaying with the motion. The sounds of gunfire and metal grating against metal resounded behind him, and a quick glance showed Blake and Ren in a dance of gunfire, blades, and a long black ribbon.

"We should get started." Jaune regretted the words the moment they parted his lips, Pyrrha turning and walking away. She looked over her shoulder as she readied her weapons, before turning with her shield raised.

Jaune drew his sword, hand choking up on the hilt as he rested his other hand against the pommel. He saw Pyrrha's eyes glance to the side, and she looked up from behind her cover for a moment.

"We still have thirty minutes until we should leave, so pace yourself."

Jaune winced, spreading his legs as he held his sword slightly to the side, nodding.

Thirty minutes was a long time. He took the first step forward.

It wouldn't be wrong to say that it seemed like Pyrrha had been shot out of a cannon. The girl took a second to close the distance between them, her verdant eyes shining as her shield rose. Jaune barely had time to move his hand to the flat of his blade, catching the blunt impact along Crocea Mors as he was forced from his feet.

In a feat of pure acrobatic luck Jaune was able to twist his body and land upright, but before he could recover, Pyrrha was on him again. The tip of her spear lightly grazed his face, the uncomfortable feeling of a sharp point digging into his skin before his Aura could even push it aside.

It felt like she'd cut him, but he knew better than to check if he was actually wounded. Right now, he needed to focus on Pyrrha, her weapon, and the sword in his hands.

No, that was wrong. He had more than that.

Lifting his knee into his chest yet maintaining his balance, Jaune kicked at Pyrrha. The bottom of his shoe was caught by Pyrrha's shield. Before she could chop at his leg though, Jaune pushed off, hopping back slightly as he angled the tip of his sword towards his opponent. He gripped the hilt tightly and stepped forward.

His mind raced against his body, searching for an option that wouldn't leave him skewered as he dashed towards Pyrrha. He twisted his elbow, lowering it as he ran his shoulder into his opponent's shield, his sword grating against her spear.

Jaune heard the mechanical click as Pyrrha's spear retracted and folded, its edge growing as he pulled his blade back, twisting and stepping quickly. He attempted to wrap around Pyrrha's left side, but she kept him in front of her.

The boy nearly dropped his sword as Pyrrha's cut through the air before his face. If he hadn't leaned back, the edge would have caught him right on the bottom of his chin.

He'd learned a lot from Velvet, but Pyrrha was putting all of him to the test, right now.

Jaune gathered his Aura, and slapped Pyrrha's sword away with the palm of his hand. His elbow, his shoulder, his chest, and then down his other arm: he felt the Aura flow from point to point as it snaked up the blade in his hand.

 _How…!?_

Crocea Mors had rejected him until now. What had changed?

He whipped it around, Pyrrha barely ducking out of the way of his slash, sword lengthened by the same white glow that had just surrounded his opposite hand. Wide open, Jaune could only let Pyrrha's weapon graze against his chestplate as he retreated.

Pyrrha didn't let him retreat. She kept up with his backstep, shield raised to catch Jaune's only response. His Aura collided with the bronze-colored barrier with a metallic clang.

Jaune grunted as Pyrrha cut at his underarm, Aura gathered to protect against the edge. The girl's shield pushed against his chest, and his grip on his sword faltered.

Blade clattering to the ground, Jaune was pushed back. He stumbled, then stood strong, Pyrrha between him and his weapon.

She didn't say anything, just staring into his eyes with her own piercing green. The redhead had an overwhelming advantage in many ways: Jaune didn't know how to fight back against her; she had a wealth of experience fighting against many other opponents throughout her life; she had clearly superior defense far beyond his own.

Pyrrha was dominating this fight. They both knew it. Yet she still stood across from him, weapons ready even as she'd disarmed Jaune.

She was terrifying.

Jaune pulled his sheath from his belt, hand wrapped around the top of it. Perhaps Pyrrha expected him to use its shield form to push back and retrieve his sword. She wasn't wrong.

As Jaune's shield popped open, he held it before him. Idly, he wondered what kind of semblance Pyrrha had. They'd yet to talk about anything like that – which was good, because Jaune himself wouldn't know exactly what to say.

Maybe... Pyrrha's was mindreading? He stared her down as she reaffirmed her stance. As his eyes trailed up her legs, he recalled what Blake had said last night about everyone at Beacon being built like an athlete.

As he blushed at the memory of accidently seeing Pyrrha bathing, he most certainly confirmed mindreading wasn't the girl's semblance – she'd probably have shared his blush.

"Are you coming?" She asked easily. Contrarily, mounting an offensive with just a shield wouldn't be easy for Jaune.

Locking his legs for just a moment, Jaune sprinted forwards, drawing in a breath just before his shield collided with Pyrrha's own. As she swiped at him with her sword, he put his hand out, fist clenched with Aura, and punched his own shield into Pyrrha's. She seemed to stumble back as he pushed, even as her blade caught him on the shoulder.

He twisted, and knocked her sword aside with his shield, Aura-encased fist still clenched. Before Jaune could land the clumsiest punch he'd ever thrown, Pyrrha spun away.

Her shapely leg caught him in the side of the head, sending him to the ground with a bone-shaking impact. Jaune groaned into the hard floor, face pressed against it.

There was a clattering of metal against the floor, close to his face. As he turned, his eye caught the hilt of Crocea Mors, then glanced up to see Pyrrha walking away.

She turned and settled into the same stance she held at the beginning of their bout. Behind her, on the far wall, Jaune watched with a groan as the minute hand of the clock clicked forward.

* * *

Tapping his cane against the floor, Ozpin's lips were pursed as he looked upon the array of monitors before him. It may have been early in the morning before classes had even begun, but for the headmaster of Beacon Academy and the rest of his staff, work never ceased.

"What do you think of them, Glynda?" He asked casually, watching as a blond boy returned to his feet, sword and shield in hand. Bespectacled eyes glanced from him to his current opponent, the reputable Pyrrha Nikos, before turning his attention to another screen, a normally flowing red cloak frozen to the ground. Ozpin afforded himself a slight smile.

"They clearly have potential." The woman stated easily, Ozpin able to guess at her relaxed posture simply from her tone alone. "These eight are the only ones of their grade up at this time, and they've made a habit of it. Team VLWR are up even earlier than APBL, and Ms. Valkyrie seems to take them through a vigorous workout routine."

"Nothing that affects their studies or performance in your classes?" Ozpin's eyes focused on the aforementioned leader, seeing the girl swinging that large hammer of hers around as if it barely held any weight.

"No, if anything, it seems like she considers that when putting them through their paces." Glynda replied. "She seems to value rest, something even some of our senior leaders seem to forget."

"And APBL's leader?" Ozpin queried.

"He is... adequate."

That was an interesting response. "Is that so?"

"Yes."

The headmaster hummed to himself, wondering exactly what his comrade meant. "Are you speaking of his capabilities as a leader, or his worth as a huntsman in training?"

"Both. As a leader, it's harder to judge, as it's not as obvious as Ms. Valkyrie's own capacity. There's been no complaints from his teammates, but neither have they exceeded expectations."

Ozpin finally turned to the rest of the staff room. Seated around the table he'd stood at the head of – his own chair momentarily ignored – were the bulk of Beacon's professors. The others seemed to have a lot on their plates this morning, oddly enough.

"Does that seem to be the consensus here?" Ozpin questioned the room as he sat. Bartholomew looked up from his thermos, while Peter turned from his animated conversation with Sheryl.

"Sorry, we were discussing the first-year leaders?" Peter Port chuckled softly, stroking his mustache as he leaned back in his chair. "APBL and VLWR... I'd say Ms. Valkyrie was an obvious selection, especially after reviewing the initiation recordings again."

On the other side of the rotund instructor, Sheryl Peach leaned forwards. "She was a good choice, and despite Mr. Arc being overwhelmingly average, I feel he was as well. Both teams are shaping up well with those two at their helms."

Ozpin turned his eyes from the excitable pinkette to her foil, the quiet woman sitting directly across from her. "Anything to add, Lilac?"

"I still think Ms. Schnee would have made an excellent leader." The youngest of Beacon's professors, Lilac Periwinkle – Professor Peri to her students – twirled a pen at the table. "Perhaps if they took different relics."

Ozpin nodded in agreement. "Perhaps." His gaze moved a seat over. "Bart?"

"I see no fault."

A few shots of espresso, and the man would likely have more animated input. The good doctor wasn't much of a morning person, and Ozpin wasn't about to shove such down his colleague's gullet for a simple opinion, as entertaining as it would be.

"No one here has anything against their appointment? Good."

"It's not like you'd change your mind." Glynda called him out, crossing her arms beneath her chest.

Ozpin reached for his mug, and wrapped his fingers around it, warmth traveling into his body. He smiled and sipped.

"Have we ever changed his mind?" Peter grinned.

"No." The tired doctor across agreed.

The two younger professors towards the end of the table shared a look of discomfort – they weren't quite used to their antics, Ozpin figured. Their shared discomfort seemed like it was going to carry on, until Sheryl stuck her tongue out at Lilac. The professor of Dust studies leaned out of the way as a knife soared past her head, quivering in the wall behind her.

The headmaster of Beacon simply shook his head and took another sip. They had their own antics, though he really wished it would stop putting holes in his walls.

He returned his mind to the matter at hand. "If it's only these first years that are taking such a serious approach this early in the year," Ozpin pondered aloud, his words immediately muting Lilac's growls and Sheryl's snickers, "Then it seems we need to motivate the rest of them, correct?"

Many nods were returned as the professors agreed. Ozpin blinked, looking among them.

"I'm open to suggestions."

He was content to sit back, sip at his mug, and let everyone else bounce ideas around. They certainly knew the students better than he did this early – though the headmaster hoped to rectify that.

"An elimination tournament in the Emerald Forest."

"Peter," Glynda didn't seem impressed by the idea at all, "I've already drawn up the budget."

Ozpin tried to hold in a laugh and instead quietly choked on his coffee. It took every ounce of his ability to keep a pensive expression, the warm liquid nearly creeping up into his sinuses.

He swallowed, glancing among those at the table.

No one seemed to have noticed his mishap – and it seemed everyone was considering Peter's suggestion seriously.

"What does the budget have to do with a tournament?" The well-rounded professor countered. "Unless we were considering some sort of incentive for the victor – or victors – all it would really take is each of us announcing it in our classes. We'd be able to pass it on through word of mouth to the other staff as well. Messages can be sent, calls made."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow as it took Glynda a moment to raise an argument in return. The blonde woman tapped the table softly.

In the span of seconds, Ozpin had an idea of what she was going to say. He thought about the students, their wants and needs. He thought about the professors and the rest of their staff. The man considered the pros and cons.

He considered the future. Steps ahead: days, weeks, months, years...

Peter's idea wasn't bad.

"I'm not averse to a first-year tournament of sorts; something like that would be easy to manage." Glynda adjusted her posture as she spoke, leaning back. "It's tossing them into the Emerald Forest to fight not just the Grimm, but each other, that presents issues."

Setting his mug down, Beacon's headmaster stood. He scanned the faces of each professor before him as they turned.

"Let's do it."

The blonde professor's eyes seemed primed to pop out of her head. "Ozpin, I don't-"

"We can arrange for an incentive. A prize for the winners." He pressed on, turning to nod at Glynda. "A few extra posters around won't cut into our budget much, and the prize itself doesn't need to be anything that has much monetary value. As for the Grimm in the Emerald Forest themselves, we can either have that as part of the challenge, or..."

He trailed off intentionally, and Lilac perked up across the table. "We send the seniors on a hunting trip?"

Ozpin nodded. "Yes. The older students can head out to the forest and clear it out as best they can, if that's what we decide. If not, they can retrieve the losers when they're eliminated."

Bartholomew adjusted his glasses, yawning loudly. Ozpin waited for a moment, but it seemed like he didn't have important to add.

Just as the headmaster was about to speak, the doctor nearly shouted, sitting straight up:

"Are we going to force the students to participate? Will there not be negative effects on the students' morale if they suffer a devastating loss? Will the victor or victors end up slacking after their victory? Will the seniors feel they've missed an opportunity, and that this year's first-years are being granted more privilege?"

And just like that, the doctor's questions came to an abrupt halt. The man didn't even seem out of breath. Everyone stared at him, Ozpin included.

Bartholomew slouched immediately after, wrapping his hands around his thermos. It seemed he wasn't quite ready for the day just yet.

Ozpin cleared his throat. "We should make participation mandatory. Live experience is better than classroom lecture any day. They're here to become huntsmen and huntresses, and there's more than a fair share of them who'll have to fight more than just Grimm at some point in their lives – perhaps even in an eerily similar scenario."

The room was deathly quiet after Ozpin made that point. He reached down and scooped up his mug swirling its contents around.

"Now then, what else shall we discuss?"

* * *

As he strode up to the cafeteria counter, Jaune was nearly sweating. He glanced to his left, out among the milling students already enjoying their meals, and then behind him to his teammates.

Ren just stared blankly back at him – though the stare seemed to hold a sense of hungry urgency.

The blond forced his eyes forward as he cracked his best smile at the cafeteria lady. He was summarily unamused when a tray was shuffled towards him with an entire loaf of bread on it. The elderly woman shooed him away, and Jaune stood to the side of the lineup as Ren, Pyrrha, and Blake all received trays as well.

Right now, what they had was a secondary concern. Keeping an eye out for a certain female senior of his was the first.

"Relax Jaune. We're not going to let some horny chick jump your bones in the middle of the cafeteria."

With a blush and a sigh, Jaune attempted to do as Blake said. He strode forwards as confidently as he could and led his team to an empty table. It wouldn't be good to have them doubting his ability to lead now.

In a way, if what Blake and even Yang had said held any truth, the legitimacy of his enrollment might be jeopardized just by how he'd been unable to handle someone who was a little touchy feely.

Pyrrha sat across from him after he settled in. "Did that really did happen?"

...Or maybe it was just those two. Pyrrha seemed like she was still having trouble believing it.

"Maybe you have an affinity for attracting unusual attention." Ren tacked on with a soft smile. It looked like he had a rather large slab of meat on his tray. "Or maybe it's just bad luck, but could you imagine if that was your affinity?"

Jaune tried to perk up a little. "That affinity stuff from Professor Peri's lecture? I still don't get it."

Ren took a breath, setting aside the knife he had ready to slice into the steaming meat. "Our souls identify with things we don't even realize. Our affinity inspires growth in all ways: spiritually, physically… even our semblances seem to have a tendency to develop in tune with them..." the dark-haired boy poked at the meat with a fork, Jaune watching it spring back. "It really has me wondering what my affinity could be. What else my semblance can do."

"That's just a theory though, isn't it?" Blake shuffled in beside Jaune. "Semblances are… reflections of the soul, I think she said? Or more like a window peering into it? And..."

"And a connection with your affinity helps your semblance develop. I don't see how a semblance might evolve, though." Pyrrha was already slicing into a wheel of cheese. "The soul subconsciously has a connection to something which is called an affinity, and then the affinity determines the path the development of the semblance takes?"

Jaune's head had been lost in the clouds for the very beginning of that lecture, but he'd really glued to the professor's words when she'd started talking about semblances. Aside from what Velvet had told him years ago, semblances and aura were something he still couldn't quite wrap his head around.

"She said something about semblances giving you a hint to what your affinity is, but it's hard to picture what mine points to." Ren finally began to cut into the meat, Jaune rubbing his chin.

"Affinity could literally be anything, right?" The blond pondered aloud, and he got nods in return.

"They say you're naturally drawn to it. So it could be-"

"Meat?"

The word left Jaune's lips before Blake finished speaking. Ren sighed as he cut into the slab – a large piece separated from the whole.

"Push your plate this way."

"I could kiss you right now."

Ren coughed softly. "Don't. Please."

Jaune smiled, and then he froze up as the slab was gently laid out, touching his bread. There was one thing he certainly remembered from the other day, despite his best efforts to forget the majority of it. Hadn't that girl said something about the cafeteria's system? And him having figured it out?

He recalled his plate, laden with a mass amount of food and little of the turkey he'd gotten – and all of it diverse.

The blond looked among his team – and their trays. Pyrrha had cheese, Jaune had bread, Ren had meat, and Blake had an assortment of vegetables and potato salad, from the looks of things.

"Are we all actually that stupid?" Jaune breathed, looking around again to confirm his suspicions. "Ren, cut two more big slices." The amount of meat Ren had shaved off for him was more than enough. Dividing Pyrrha's wheel of cheese into quarters, breaking up his bread, and splitting Blake's veggies?

A minute or two after everyone caught on, they each had a sizable meal before them.

"We're all actually just that stupid." Blake replied with a soft sigh, nibbling on some bread Jaune had pulled apart for her.

"In hindsight, it makes perfect sense."

There was a chorus of agreement. What better way to promote friendship between teammates than to make them share food? You know, even though they hadn't said anything and just slapped massive amounts of food on their trays and expected them to understand?

"Son of a bitch... Remember that time I ate like a kilo of ground beef?"

Everyone turned to Blake.

"Pretty sure we were supposed to make tacos with that."

The table collectively groaned. Jaune had a bowl full of lettuce that day, nice and neatly shredded.

"I knew the cooks hadn't messed up! Those weren't supposed to be pancakes, those were soft tortillas..."

Pyrrha shoved her face into her hands. "I had the salsa and the rest of the fixings...!"

The four members of ABPL collectively mourned the loss of taco day as they ate.

Jaune set his utensils down on an empty plate and sighed. "I can't believe we were so stupid. I mean, they gave me a whole swordfish! I knew I wasn't supposed to eat a whole fish."

Blake immediately slammed her hand on the table. The glare Jaune's eyes met held promises of death and despair. "No, you were. You gave it to me, remember?"

"R-right."

The black-haired girl inched closer, until she was nearly crawling on top of Jaune. Her breath hit his face she was so close. Blake's eyes were half-lidded, and her voice came out as a whisper:

"Give it to me next time too, okay?"

Jaune's shoulders tensed, and his own eyes widened. "O-okay!"

Blake pulled back with a smile that stretched, humming a happy affirmative. Never before had Jaune been more terrified and aroused. Well, except for just the other day-

"Blake, you could keep your promises for once..." Jaune let out as warmth spread to his cheeks.

"What?"

"Nothing."

A shrill shriek brushed Jaune's ears and popped the awkward mood like a bubble: the sound was quiet, but most certainly noticeable.

Worse, it was recognizable.

The blond's head whipped around at the same time as Blake's, and he could feel the girl tense up beside him. Jaune's legs bulged, but they slacked for another reason.

"That hurts!"

He let out a heavy breath through his nose.

"C'mon Velv', kick his ass..." Jaune muttered under his breath.

Across the cafeteria, Cardin Winchester and his team were having a laugh, but the subject of their torment was a girl Jaune had known for what felt like all his life. The blond willed himself to stay put in his seat, even though he was already picking the best route to take to plant his foot squarely in Cardin's teeth.

How fucking dare he.

Jaune had to dig his fingers into the wood of the bench beneath him as he watched the bastard give Velvet's ears another tug. He tapped his foot, knowing his sister was just waiting for an opening. A moment for her to get one foot up, spin, and knock the bastard around.

An agonizingly long second or two passed, and nothing happened. To Jaune's surprise, Blake made to stand before he did.

His hand lashed out, grabbed her wrist, and hauled her back down.

"Jaune? She's..." She hissed, eyes filled with as much anger as he felt. "That's your sister."

"I know."

"Cardin's-"

"I _know_." He couldn't stress the last syllable enough.

Blake stared into his eyes, before Jaune turned back to the entire cafeteria's focus at the moment.

Velvet did nothing.

That pissed him off more than anything.

Jaune's grip relaxed, and he drew in a breath.

He stood, gently pressing against the cafeteria table, sliding both him, Blake, and the bench they were sitting on back. The boy lifted his leg to step over the bench.

It pressed down against the wood. He jumped to the next table over, landing with all the grace of a bull, but remaining surefooted.

The next table was a further jump, but at that point, the shocked gasps of the people he passed were barely audible past the blood pumping through his ears. Long strides and the leaps he took carried him quickly, if a little clumsily.

Cardin's head turned as Jaune let his legs slack as he landed one table closer. Spinning and flicking his toes, arms stretched out behind him, Jaune's knee collided with the boy's braincase. The larger teen was sent flying into a neighboring table with an impact that cracked the surface.

Splinters flew as Cardin's bulky frame sent two even halves of the table jutting up. The blond's heart pounded in his chest, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he stopped right next to his sister.

"Jaune?" Velvet's slightly teary eyes met his.

"Hi. The hell are you doing?" He hissed between clenched teeth. "You can knock them flat."

"Well, umm..."

Jaune turned as Cardin staggered to his feet, clutching his head. The blond gestured to him. "Look at that. You can do ten times better, so what the hell are you doing, Velv'?"

"You shithead..." Cardin called out. The boy ignored him.

"I can defend myself. That's just it." Velvet replied, eyes still teary but a frown crossing her lips. "Not everyone can."

Eyes rolling, Jaune turned back to Cardin and his team. "Not this shit again..."

Cardin blinked and shook the dust off himself as he put bulky fists up. His formerly shocked team joined him at his sides, looking as ready for a fight as the big man himself.

Jaune clenched his fists, widened his stance, and brought his hands up as well. His knuckles lined up with his sight, and then he lowered them just a bit.

"You're dead!" The large punk called out, charging forward.

The blond boy stood his ground, shoulders tensed up.

* * *

Jaune took a shuddering breath, the sun having long-since set. The tops of rows of corn obscured much of their surroundings, beyond what was already trampled by the beasts. Everything was silent but the weeping of the girl behind him.

So he liked to believe.

Velvet was giggling as he threw punch after punch, kick after kick.

"Your form is so sloppy! You're not going to hit anything like that."

The blond snorted, bandage on his cheek from where it had been scratched by a tree branch earlier in the day. "Who cares about form? All I gotta do is hit the Grimm hard enough, right?"

"Yeah, and I'm saying you won't hit them. Where'd you learn to punch? Some really bad action movies?"

The faunus girl's giggling resumed as the blond blushed. Jaune dropped his fists and sighed.

"Teach me how to fight, then. You're going to a combat school, right?"

Velvet put a finger on her chin and hummed.

"Nope!"

"What? Come on!"

"Maybe one day." The older girl offered.

"Really?"

* * *

Jaune stepped to the outside of Cardin's punch, and drove his own fist into the boy's gut. He swept his leg and threw more punches – relentless as he drove his knuckles into flesh again and again, trailing up the boy's torso until one extended arm put his left into the taller boy's nose.

His hips were still square as Cardin fell, but he heard rapid footsteps from behind. Jaune leaned forwards and his leg lashed out, catching somebody somewhere with the bottom of his shoe. He righted himself and spun, bringing his elbow down on a head of brown hair. Jaune wasn't sure which member of CRDL it was. Dove, maybe.

Russel – Jaune could never forget that weird hair – rushed him. He doubled over Jaune's fist, but the blond wasn't done. He firmly pressed his knuckles of his fists against the boy's head on either side, holding him up.

At least, until Jaune hopped backwards, and brought the boy's forehead into his knee. He fell to the ground with a groan.

It was only then that Jaune had realized a crowd had gathered around him and team CRDL. Red hair caught his eye, and his eyes passed over his team for just a brief moment as he turned.

The member of CRDL with the slicked-back hair was helping Cardin to his feet. Dove or Sky – whichever of the two it was – propped him up only to be roughly pushed aside by his leader.

Cardin rushed Jaune again, but the blond stood there and glared, panting.

The boy's fingers dug into his uniform and Cardin smiled as he pulled his fist back. Much too far back. About as far back as an eight-year-old Jaune might have, trying to impress a girl a year older than him who was much better at fighting.

Jaune stepped a bit to the side, twisting as Cardin put all his weight into a punch, pressing one palm against the boy's arm as the large fist breezed past his face. The blond held his free arm in front of his face for a moment, before focusing all his strength through his legs and his hips as he twisted.

His elbow landed squarely in the back of Cardin's head, and the big guy toppled again.

Jaune still didn't know the name of the last guy who was standing. It was a fifty-fifty chance it was Dove or Sky. He stomped forwards, and the guy practically cowered.

"C'mon, you were laughing too." Was all Jaune said as he grabbed the back of the guy's uniform. He lifted him up and turned him around.

"I'm sorry!" Dove-Sky nearly shrieked.

"Yeah, I know, but I've always wanted to try this, and you guys really pissed me off."

Jaune bent forwards and wrapped his arms neatly around the guy's waist.

"What's going on?" The voice was distant, feminine, and immediately recognizable. Out of the corner of Jaune's eye, he thought he saw the crowd parting.

Well, he'd land in a lot of trouble for this, he was sure. Might as well go out with a bang.

Jaune heaved, lifting the skinnier boy and holding onto him as he threw him over his head. Back arching, the blond planted the boy's head as directly into the ground as he could.

Somebody in the crowd laughed and clapped. Whoever it was, their mirth quickly quieted and their claps slowed as Jaune rolled out of the maneuver, pushing himself to his feet.

His eyes trailed up thin legs, and he met the interested gaze of Lilac Periwinkle. Jaune felt all weight leave his body.

"You're coming with me."

Jaune made to turn his head and found he still could. He looked over at his team, their eyes wide, and Velvet, who was aghast.

"I told you I would do it one day!" He called out to her, nearly chuckling as he felt everything slow.

The boy was hit with a wave of nausea, and his vision blurred. The last thing Jaune saw was a broad grin on a girl's face.

* * *

 **Oh no? What happened to our poor hero? If only there was some way for everyone to find out! It has me nearly biting my nails.**

 **See you next update!**


	9. Yeah, She Looks Fun

**Hey everyone, hope you're all well. Holiday season is in swing, so I've been increasingly busy.**

 **The good thing about being busy is it isn't hard for me to sit down and write for a while. I even feel like doing it more, when I have the time.**

 **I feel like recently, I've reminded myself what I like about writing this story in particular, and I'm going to start focusing on that feeling a little more. Please pardon the dust, because things are really going to find some slopes to climb and fall off.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Beta: Knight of Cerberus_

 _"I remember fighting all those little chickens until they summoned a behemoth to farm."_

* * *

Jaune took a deep breath, hands held behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling fan that spun above. He was able to tell the exact time it would wobble on every rotation. The blond could also easily guess how many of the blades of said fan were apparitions, and though the light in the center strained his eyes, he didn't dare turn his head or look away.

Doing such – especially looking down – would have disastrous consequences.

"You still have no idea?"

Professor Peri's voice sent a chill through Jaune's spine. In any other situation it would be unusual for the soft-spoken woman, but with the young professor on her knees poking and prodding at his bare abdomen, Jaune tried to keep his mind off of what she was doing as best he could.

Of course, that was hard to do when he was half-naked in the professor's office. She'd even shut the blinds. It was like the plot to a bad porno. Not that Jaune watched those things, of course. Nope! Entirely porn free.

"N-no, this is the first time something like that's ever happened." Jaune confirmed, adjusting his stance as the woman's chilly fingers roamed his skin. For a moment, her digits dipped under the waistband of his pants, and every muscle in his body tensed.

"The sudden awakening to and extended use of one's semblance is typically accompanied by nausea, acid reflux, lightheadedness, and, in the most severe cases, loss of consciousness." Professor Peri stood, Jaune able to see the woman's hair at the very bottom of his vision. "You were knocked out after the connection finally cut, so the complications could actually be fairly severe."

"Then I really did use my semblance there?" Jaune swallowed heavily.

"Yes. I felt it." She answered matter-of-factly. "Why are you looking up like that?" The professor grabbed the boy's chin and pulled his head down. She stared into his eyes, but Jaune blinked and looked away with a smile.

He used his semblance! That excited the blond beyond belief, but it was hard to keep his mind on anything other than the extremely awkward inspection he was going through. Professor Peri said it was completely mandatory, but as it went on, he couldn't help but start feeling violated. She was being touchier than that one girl had been in the cafeteria!

The boy's own considerations and the words of wisdom Yang and Blake shared with him clashed in his head.

The professor wasn't making a move on him, right? Or was she?

"Do you have to be so close?" The blond whined to himself. He could feel her hot breath on his chest as she bent her knees again.

"Yes. I'm checking for irregularities." The boy's blush spread to his ears as he realized the professor had heard him. "You wouldn't want your semblance to be harmful to yourself or others unintentionally, right?"

"Is that even possib-" Jaune let out a quiet peep as the professor unbuttoned his pants. "I th-thought those were staying on?"

He looked downwards and blushed heavily as Professor Peri dragged his pants to his ankles.

"I need to give you a thorough examination, Mr, Arc. It's mandatory." She repeated. After a long pause, she spoke up again, putting her hand on the inside of his thigh. "Have you ever eaten Dust?"

Jaune didn't answer immediately. He was more interested in his ability to see down the professor's shirt.

"No, uh... Nice."

The young professor frowned, before she shook her head, seemingly entirely focused on him as she wrapped her hands around his calf. The boy's eyes remained glued to her cleavage as he swore she intentionally pushed her chest together.

"Not cancer, then." She whispered, her fingers ghosting his legs. "Have you noticed any irregular growths since coming to?"

Well, Jaune was starting to get a fairly regular one now. The blond coughed.

"N-no." He stammered out.

"Turn around."

Jaune let out a sigh, and thanked whatever gods there were out there.

The boy then cursed those very same gods as Professor Peri 's fingers pulled his underwear down as well. His hands went from behind his head to covering his crotch as his pulse pounded in his ears.

"What are you doing?" Jaune breathed out as he tried to glance over his shoulder, aghast.

"It's easier for me to look than it is to feel. I'm sure you'd be much more comfortable with this than the alternative."

"This is far from comfortable!" Jaune stressed, folding in on himself as he turned around to face the professor.

"Ah, perfect. I was about to ask you to turn around. Why are you covering yourself up?"

Professor Peri grabbed his wrists, and Jaune tried to resist her initial tug. Warmth pulsed from the professor's fingers, and the boy felt muscles slack as she pulled his hands away.

Jaune stared. The professor stared. The boy felt he might pass out again as his blood coursed through his entire body with the intense hammering of his heart. It was like she was reading a book, only instead, her eyes were roaming his privates.

"Nice." The professor nodded, gently returning Jaune's hands to where they were covering his junk. "You look free and clear of complications, but I could always do a deeper inspection to make sure. Depends on if you're okay with me sticking my fingers in a hole that's usually a one-way street."

As if Jaune could feel any more embarrassed – his face felt like it was melting – she just had to bring that up too. "I'll be okay without the deeper inspection. Can I please put my pants back on?"

"You sure? You look like the type who might enjoy-"

"I'm sure!"

Professor Peri seemed to hesitate in giving her response, before she nodded and stood. "If you ever pass out like that again, come see me immediately. My students' health is my number one priority, and I say that as someone who has no medical training whatsoever."

Jaune paused midway through sliding his underwear back on, his pulse slowing. "Wait, you're... not a doctor?"

"I never said anything like that. I just know a lot of medical things." The lady tapped the side of her head. "The headmaster knows I'm knowledgeable and that I have good judgement. That's why he gave me the job."

The blond blinked, frowning.

"Oh, if you don't remember from the introduction to my class, I'm an expert on Aura, and in most cases even the soul." The young professor grinned toothily. "I know almost everything there is to know about semblances and such, with the exception being specifics about individuals. Including what they can do to the body."

The boy realized something as well, now that he'd been able to relax. "So, we don't know what my semblance is yet?" Jaune deflated.

"You might, deep down. If I saw you use it directly, I could too, but from the sounds of things you gave team CRDL quite the beatdown." Professor Peri giggled. She found that funny? "Ask your teammates. They saw the whole thing."

Jaune continued to get dressed, humming.

"It's might just come to you, I think. You're different from some of the other kids. More complex."

Complex?

"What do you mean by that?" Jaune asked cautiously, crossing his arms. Usually he'd associate that word with difficulty.

"I had to give you such a thorough inspection because I just couldn't see everything about you. Usually I can take one glance and figure someone out but you're... cloudy, I guess. That typically means you're developed enough to utilize your semblance, whether you know it or not."

"Oh."

"At least you're easy on the eyes." She giggled softly again. "Makes the inspection easier."

The blond blushed again, but really it just felt natural. "Th-thanks, I guess?"

"You're welcome. Remember, if you pass out again, come see me."

Jaune really wondered if he should after he said his farewells, the door closing behind his back. He felt like sprinting down the hall to relieve his pent-up energy – and to maybe put some distance between himself and the professor who may have just molested him a bit – but right in front of him was the rest of his team.

"You aren't hurt, are you?" Pyrrha asked, head tilted in concern. Blake stared him down, while Ren looked equally as troubled as his redheaded teammate.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Professor Peri got a little weird there, but-"

"It was your semblance, wasn't it."

Jaune and Pyrrha both turned to Blake as the girl's glare softened. The blond relaxed and nodded back.

"Yeah, but we don't know exactly what it is yet." Jaune confessed. "I was actually hoping I could ask you guys if you saw anything weird?"

"Aside from your hands glowing and you kicking CRDL to the curb? Nothing unusual." Blake pointed out.

"My hands glew? Glowed? Er... were glowing?"

Ren chuckled and nodded. "Because of what happened in the cafeteria, Professor Peri wrote both us and team CRDL off for the rest of the day. She said if you were feeling alright, we could work on this semblance problem immediately."

"Really?" That caught Jaune off guard. "So... we're getting the rest of the day off... because I fought in the cafeteria?"

"Pretty much." Ren agreed.

"Beacon is awesome." Jaune let out, immediately forgetting all the bad things that had happened to him over the course of the last couple weeks. "Shall we?"

* * *

"So, here we are." Jaune started off, looking from his right to his left. Ren nodded to him, then Blake directly across, and lastly Pyrrha. Each of them smiled softly as they sat in a circle; or was it a square, with only the four of them?

Regardless, Jaune shook his head to himself as he considered the topic at hand. The training room they'd been sparring in earlier that morning was now completely empty aside from them. It made Jaune feel small, sitting as they were.

"Okay, so I guess this is when we talk about semblances?" Blake added on, shuffling where she sat with her legs crossed. "We could share a bit about our own, or do you just want what we saw earlier in the cafeteria?"

The blond boy considered that for a moment, before shaking his head again. "Up to you guys. I think I brought it up before when I said we should learn to fight together. We've all seen yours in action Blake, with those weird..." Jaune waved his hand around, searching for the word.

"Just call them clones, I guess." Blake helped, frowning. "And they're not weird."

"Sure, clones." Jaune waved Blake off, turning to Ren. They'd get back to her. "I don't think I've seen you do anything wacky like that."

"They're not wacky either!" Blake protested as Ren nodded along. The soft-spoken boy's lips parted:

"My semblance isn't quite combat oriented. At least, not for anything like sparring or fighting."

Jaune tilted his head. All sorts of semblances existed across Remnant, but he'd always assumed they were supposed to be useful in a fight. "So, what does it do?"

"It would be easier to show you, but right now you might not notice it." Ren conferred, looking between Pyrrha and Blake as well. "Blake, lean a little closer. I might need your help to demonstrate, if that's okay."

Blake raised an eyebrow, but leaned closer as Ren shuffled towards her. The boy whispered something to her, and Blake nodded, before looking somewhat aghast.

"You seriously want me to..."

"I mean, there's other ways to get him-"

"No, if this is the easiest way for you to show it off, I'll do it."

Jaune watched as Ren blinked and nodded, the blond looking over to the boy's partner. He leaned towards the redhead. "Do you know what this is about?"

Pyrrha shook her head softly, looking between Ren and Blake as well. "No, I..." The redhead trailed off as she stared, Jaune only shifting his gaze a second later to see what she was looking at.

Blake was on her hands and knees, crawling towards Jaune. The boy blinked and tensed up as she put a hand on his thigh. In the span of one heartbeat, the girl was climbing into his lap.

"B-Blake?!"

Not another one! Not again!

As Jaune panicked, he felt fingers wrap around his forearm. He took a breath, and he could swear every muscle in his body relaxed. He'd stayed as still as he could, staring at Blake. His eyes traced the curves of her face, the way her eyes blinked as she looked into his.

Why was she doing this? Was this what Ren asked her to do? What was the meaning of life?

Jaune took Blake's hand and moved it away from his thigh, shaking his head as he shuffled backwards. The black-haired girl pulled back with eyes widening, and Ren released Jaune's arm.

"See? Almost immediately."

"That's... a little unsettling, actually." Blake acknowledged. She coughed with a blush. "It's a good thing you're a good guy, Ren."

"Did he just do what I think he did?" Pyrrha wondered as Jaune looked among the three of them. It seemed he was the only one who didn't quite get what just happened. "If so, that's a little terrifying."

"I don't get it." Jaune finally admitted. Wasn't that pretty much what Professor Peri did in her office, or was this different?

"He calmed you with a touch, but I don't think that's all there is to it." Blake didn't hesitate in saying, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Jaune followed her eyes to Ren. "There are less than savory ways something like that could be abused, though."

The boy to Jaune's right coughed. "It doesn't quite work like that. Jaune resisted your approach because he was able to think calmly about it. Believe me, I've thought long and hard about what I can do with my semblance."

Pyrrha and Blake shuffled further away, and Ren sighed. "Not like that..."

"Then what do you mean?" Blake asked, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"You've seen action movies or whatever, right?" Jaune nodded his head rapidly in response to Ren's words. "So, imagine I'm sneaking up on someone who's clearly an enemy. If I approach and try to use my semblance to disarm him calmly, he'll probably be able to put up a better fight because I lose the element of surprise, and he's able to think things through rationally."

"So, if you were to feel up a girl with your semblance-"

"And I wouldn't." Ren protested.

"She'd just be able to fight back with a clear head, and not turn into a near-lifeless husk like I'm thinking?" Blake pondered aloud, still somewhat tense.

"Essentially, yes." Jaune saw the slightest blush rise up Ren's cheeks. "What kind of guy do you take me for? I'm not Jaune."

"Hey!" Now it was the blond's turn to protest, crossing his arms. "I wouldn't feel up a girl unsolicited-like."

He realized a moment later that was the worst way he could put it.

"No, but you'll walk in on her while she's bathing." Blake pointed out, much to Pyrrha's embarrassment.

"O-Or even let her feel you up, apparently."

Jaune pouted as even Pyrrha joined in on the teasing. "Come on guys, it's not funny."

Everyone else still shared a laugh as Jaune shook his head. Now he certainly couldn't tell them what happened in Professor Peri's office – though he certainly had been more comfortable with that up until the young woman said she wasn't a real doctor.

Maybe he should ask about her semblance if he had the chance to talk with her again.

Jaune cleared his throat as he turned to Pyrrha. "What about you?"

The redheaded girl scratched the back of her neck. To Jaune, she looked somewhat uncertain.

"Ren, will you forgive me for this?"

Pyrrha reached into the pouch at her hip, and retrieved a small coin. Jaune was sure he'd seen her tossing it before. Maybe it was an heirloom of sorts?

"What? What for?" Ren asked.

Pyrrha flipped the coin into the air, but it didn't fall. A moment passed as it hovered. It spun in the air, then delicately floated towards the other male member of ABPL. Jaune watched on as Ren's face contorted, growing slightly pale.

"You're kidding me." He gasped.

"I'm sorry." Pyrrha smiled. "My semblance is polarity. Well, I suppose it could actually just be straight magnetism. Professor Peri asked me to reexamine what I could do with it, so I'm still exploring the possibilities."

"So that time in the Emerald Forest-"

"Yes." Pyrrha cut off.

"In the dorm, when we were choosing beds?"

"Then too."

Ren seemed distressed. "When I traded you that bowl of grapes for your bread?"

"No, that one was legitimate. I didn't use my semblance there."

Jaune chuckled as the boy let out a breath, before the blond turned to Pyrrha. "What all can you use it on?"

The redhead hummed, spinning the coin as it hovered back to her palm. "Well, anything that's magnetically responsive I can manipulate at range. Other metals I need to touch first." She wrapped her fingers around the coin, before exposing it face up. "I can sense metals too, I suppose. Most of them, at least."

"Could you, like, disarm us just by pulling our weapons away?" Blake wondered aloud.

"Potentially, but that's no fun when we're just sparring, and I don't like putting all my eggs in one basket. My semblance isn't what I rely on in fights." The redhead wore an even broader smile. "I just use it to tweak the odds in my favor."

When it seemed like no one else was going to speak up a few moments after Pyrrha stopped speaking, Jaune clapped his hands together. "Okay, so we have weird, creepy clones-"

"They're not weird!"

"-magnetism, and Ren's calming thing. It's safe to say my semblance isn't like any of those in any way, shape, or form, right?"

"Well, semblances are supposed to be unique." Blake pointed out, crossing her arms. "For all the times Professor Peri's highlighted that – even though she mentioned exceptions – I doubt your semblance is similar to any of ours."

Ren nodded his agreement. "Certainly not mine."

"Mine neither." Pyrrha tacked on.

"So," Jaune continued, leaning forwards to rest his chin in a hand, "what could it be?"

"You kicked CRDL's ass, and you never fought that good against me." Blake mentioned first before turning. "You can say the same, right Pyrrha?"

"You're a decent fighter, but you swept them." Pyrrha hummed. "It might have been a barehanded fight, but the odds were still against you. No offense, but you're not that skilled."

Jaune accepted that with a nod. Even he was surprised he'd done it. He remembered everything, after all, including the suplex he'd pulled at the very end.

Man, that felt good.

"What about that affinity thing?" Jaune brought up.

"Let's forget about affinity for now. None of us know what ours are, and we know our semblances already." Blake pointed out, getting nods from both Pyrrha and Ren.

"Perhaps it was something to do with the unarmed aspect of the combat? We can test for that first."

At Ren's suggestion, Jaune's muscles tensed up. The edge in the boy's voice wasn't something he'd expected.

"Sorry, test?"

"How else are we going to find out what your semblance is unless we put you through the wringer. You have no clue yourself, do you?"

Jaune winced, standing. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"It might even be something to do with fighting multiple opponents." Pyrrha confirmed, rolling her head around, tilting it until even Jaune heard a pop.

Oh no.

"Maybe it's a power boost of some sort, against insurmountable odds?" Blake offered.

Whatever gods were out there, he was sorry for whatever he'd done.

"Don't worry Jaune, we'll figure this out as a team. We've had a long time to think about what to try, after all."

The boy whimpered, taking a step back from the three. It almost seemed like their shadows grew ominously as they stood as well, eyes taking a dangerous glint.

"Wait, what did I do? I'm sorry!" Jaune apologized broadly.

"You were gone all that one day, without really telling anyone what you were doing." Pyrrha smiled – but it was wholly fake.

"I just think you're not going to figure it out until we make it hurt." Blake's smile was as toxic as Pyrrha's. "And you called my semblance wacky."

"We talked with your sister too, and well..." Ren was the only one who seemed a little apprehensive.

"Velvet? What did she say?"

"She said to knock you around some for her. Not sure why."

"You're kidding!" Jaune protested.

"She also told us she'd pray for you." Blake chuckled.

Jaune turned, and put everything he could into his legs.

The boy ran. At least, he tried. Ren's feet slid across the ground as he leaned, cutting off Jaune's escape. A slight wave of black cloth filled Jaune's vision as the boy threw a palm towards him. Jaune barely had time to get an arm up to defend himself. The impact stung, but it seemed like the other male held back a bit.

"Can we at least change out of our uniforms first?" Jaune protested.

"You think CRDL would?"

Jaune heard it coming, and he attempted to slip away. A light punch caught him in his shoulder as he tried to twist away from Blake's attack.

He needed space.

Pyrrha was there to take what little ground he tried to get, but at the very least it seemed they were taking turns. The girl's leg snapped out, and Jaune bent over it as she caught him in the gut.

Jaune grunted as the girl pulled her leg back, seeing her step towards him. She backed away at the last second, and the boy's eyes widened reflexively.

He swore, wheeling around to try and deflect Ren's own kick.

Seriously, what was he supposed to do here? They'd just swarm him at the current pace.

The answer Jaune had for himself wasn't great as he spun on his one foot, planting both as he threw a punch towards Blake.

It passed through her.

"How's this for wacky?" He heard from behind him. He barely had time to draw in a breath before he closed his eyes.

The boy threw his arm out backwards and caught Blake's fist in his palm, wrapping his fingers around it. His feet danced, toes tapping against the ground light as a feather when he spun, hauling the girl closer to him. When he opened his eyes, his hands were glowing.

He couldn't stop himself, following through the motion. Jaune tugged the girl's arm over his shoulder, shifting his weight as he lifted her entire body. Twisting his hips, he rotated the girl into the ground, her back slamming against the floor. He stepped back, falling into a vaguely familiar form.

The boy watched the glow fade from his hands, muscles tensing right back up.

Ren and Pyrrha seemed apprehensive as Blake rose, the black-haired girl wincing.

"Uh, I think I just did it again." Jaune let out warily, unsure if they were continuing as his eyes flickered between his three teammates.

"I noticed. Ow." Blake rubbed her back, wincing. "How did you do it? Focus on that feeling."

"How? Well, it felt natural. I just had to do something." The blond's lips tightened. He looked to Ren and Pyrrha. "Thoughts?"

The two both shared a look before shaking their heads. Ren hummed.

"Did you feel anything, Blake?"

The girl frowned as she stretched, dusting her uniform off and smoothing out her skirt. "It might be nothing, but I did feel something."

Jaune perked up. "What's that?"

"It's weird, but I felt like I couldn't stop you. No matter how hard I wanted to, or how easy it seemed, I don't think I could have broken your grip."

"Ah, I have a theory."

Jaune, Blake, and Ren all turned to Pyrrha as she spoke up.

"Maybe your semblance has something to do with grappling?" The redhead offered, bouncing on her heels. She almost seemed like she was still raring to go.

"You think?" Jaune wondered, looking between everyone. She might be right, with what happened just now and back in the cafeteria.

He looked over to Ren. "Mind if I try something?"

Ren stepped forwards, nodding. "Please be gentle."

Jaune approached him, the blond tilting his head. The thing was, he had no idea how to properly grab someone. That wasn't something Velvet had taught him at all.

So how had he executed those techniques so flawlessly?

He reached for Ren's shoulder, patting him on it as he looked down at his feet. Jaune blinked, before wrapping his arms around the other male. "Like this, maybe?"

No glowing hands or anything. Jaune frowned as Ren's hand patted him on the back.

The blond stepped back out of what had to have been the most awkward hug ever, shaking his head. "I'll be honest, I have no idea what I'm doing."

"You certainly don't." Blake chuckled, much to Jaune's annoyance. Ren held out his arm, and Jaune wrapped a hand around the boy's wrist. He turned, attempting to throw him as he had Blake.

All that resulted of that was Jaune barely lifting Ren more than a foot off the ground, before the dark-haired boy rolled off his shoulder.

"If nothing is happening, maybe it is conditional." Pyrrha wondered as Jaune grunted, rolling his shoulders. "Should we go another round?"

Jaune grit his teeth before he nodded, stepping back away from the others as he got his fists up.

"Ready when you guys are."

Maybe he'd just get his ass kicked, maybe he'd make progress. In a weird way, it pleased him.

He smiled as Blake ran forwards. "This is payback for that throw!" The girl swung her leg around, bringing it high at his head.

Jaune caught it, blinking. It was just a normal kick. He held her ankle, refusing to look down. After dealing with being Velvet's punching bag on more than one occasion, it was almost reflex.

"Where are you looking?" Blake screeched, trying to pull her leg back as she hopped.

"Nowhere! And you should never kick so high unless you've got an opening!" Jaune threw her leg away, backing up as the girl seemed to pursue him.

"You absolute pervert!" She yelled.

It was a long time before Ren and Pyrrha got a turn.

* * *

Jaune panted, wiping the sweat from his brow as he stared Pyrrha down. The redhead seemed just as winded, Ren and Blake off to the side. The former was sitting, hunched over. The latter stood impatiently, undoubtedly tapping her foot as the blond could even feel her glare.

"Are you two done? It's my turn again next."

Jaune grunted to himself, reaching up and undoing the top button of his shirt, now soaked with sweat. He was right, they should have changed out of their uniforms, especially with Blake fighting like an absolute animal each time it was her turn.

He might as well have looked up her skirt, if she was going to be like this.

They'd made little to no progress, only having taken a short break about an hour ago. The last time Jaune had used his unknown semblance had been when he'd thrown Blake to the ground. No sign of it since.

They'd tried nearly everything, and still no reactions.

"Perhaps we should take another break for now? Maybe even until tomorrow?" Jaune offered up, putting his hands on his hips as he stretched.

That proved to be a mistake as Pyrrha rushed forwards. Jaune's eyes widened. He quickly put his hands up in front of him, backing away.

Pyrrha had proven again and again she could fight without a weapon just as well as with, though it wasn't like Jaune could say that himself: he'd no idea how skilled she really was, after all this time. The gap between them was too big to tell just how far ahead she was.

She could kick his ass, but how easily she was doing it was something Jaune couldn't possible guess at.

Rather than going for a punch, Pyrrha reached inside Jaune's guard and wrapped up her arm between his own. He could feel the heat coming off her body as she grunted, trying to pull him forwards. The blond boy winced as her elbow found itself in his chest.

Jaune was frustrated. What was he missing? What did it take? If only he had something to go off of.

Pyrrha spun and Jaune felt a moment of weightlessness before Pyrrha drove his back into the ground. He gasped for air as the girl rolled off of him.

When he'd fought CRDL, and when he'd thrown Blake, what was different?

The boy sat up.

"Nothing there." Pyrrha panted where she laid, Jaune looking over at her. "Maybe it's time for a break? We've been going for a while."

Jaune shook his head.

He wouldn't say he'd figured it out, but there was one last thing he wanted to try. He pulled out his scroll, just to confirm with himself. He wasn't in the red yet, so if things went wrong, he'd still be fine.

"How's your Aura, Blake? I think I might be onto something here."

Everyone seemed to perk up at that.

"You might be onto something?" Ren looked more tired than anyone, even though he still seemed interested. "You haven't activated it in nearly two hours."

Blake just finished checking her scroll as Jaune helped Pyrrha up. She walked out across from him. "I'm still high yellow. What are we trying?"

Jaune scratched his head, wondering how to put it. "Just defend yourself. I'm working it out still, and I'll come at you when I'm ready."

The boy held his scroll sideways, pursing his lips as he tapped repeatedly on the screen. There was something he was looking for, he just had to remember what it was. He swiped across the display, shaking his head a couple times as he kept looking.

After a moment, he looked up, and noticed everyone was staring at him expectantly.

"Ah, sorry, I don't want to say it until I try it out. You guys would think I'm stupid." Jaune admitted, returning his attention to the scroll.

Whatever his teammates said after, Jaune tuned it out as his eyes widened and a chill hit him. He blinked, a little hesitant as his finger hovered over the thumbnail. The blond tapped it, and moved a little further into the video as it played.

"That's right, I remember this." Jaune's lips spread in a smile as he watched a digital man in a white suit suplex another. "This was so much fun to play."

The boy laughed to himself, skipping ahead a bit. He felt his pulse in his ears as he watched, heart racing.

He'd have to watch all of it later, but right now, his eyes were fixated on the action as the man threw a devastating punch. That was one of the most powerful moves in the game, but the conditions for it were ridiculous.

Jaune blinked.

The conditions?

"Oh, I have a good feeling about this one guys. If this is it, I think I'm gonna scream." The boy pocketed his scroll, feeling pumped up after finding the video. He pushed his fist into the palm of his other hand with a smack. "Ready, Blake?"

The girl turned, nodding. "Whatever it is, I'm not going to make it easy for you."

"I hope not."

Jaune smiled, drawing in a breath.

"Here we go!" He roared as he charged forwards. He could see Blake's eyes widen as he closed the distance.

The boy pulled his fist back, his other hand in front of him. It was awash with light. He bent one knee, then put all his weight into his hips, twisting and pulling his other hand back. Muscles clenched and rippled as he shifted his momentum.

Jaune felt the power roll up his back and down his arm. He felt it all collecting in his fist as it connected with Blake's crossed arms.

The boy blew through her clone, seeing it part around his knuckles. The momentum carried through and Jaune nearly stumbled, but his fist was still glowing.

With nowhere to go, the boy drove his momentum into the ground. Jaune didn't know what it was made of, but it cracked like ice.

The room was completely silent, beyond the echo of the punch hitting Jaune's ears a moment later. He let out a long breath as he shakily pulled his fist back.

He wouldn't hesitate to call it a crater, but to him it didn't matter what size the imprint his fist had made was. It only had to exist for a grin to split his face.

"Woo!" Jaune celebrated, jumping up with his arms stretched towards the sky. "I was right!"

Amid his celebrations, the blond turned to his teammates, who were all staring with barely constrained surprise.

"What did you do?" Ren's eyes were as wide as they could have possibly been, dragging a small towel across his forehead.

"Oh, you guys are not going to believe it!" He took a step towards his team, when his leg gave out. He had a grin on his face even as he fell. His vision faded.

The boy didn't even feel himself hit the ground.

* * *

The first thing Jaune saw was light. Or rather, a soft pink glow seemed to fill his eyes. He felt something on his face twitch, and the pink darkened.

It took the boy a moment to realize his eyes were closed, so he tried to open them.

Doing so quickly proved to be a mistake, the light nearly blinding as he tried to move his arm up to cover his eyes. He found he could hardly move it, groaning in pain as he could only describe his current state as sore beyond belief. He just closed his eyes again, breathing softly.

"I didn't know you liked me so much, visiting again so soon." A familiar female voice hit Jaune's ears, but he couldn't put a name to it. Not yet. Trying to recall anything beyond basic function just made his head throb with pain. "It may sound weird, but I'm going to put glasses on you?"

Jaune couldn't really respond. His jaw hurt too much to pull it apart to speak. He grunted in response as he felt cold frames press down on his ears and nose. He blinked his eyes open cautiously.

Oh, he was in Professor Peri's again, but this time she wasn't alone. He was on the same bed as when he'd had a much softer awakening earlier, and Headmaster Ozpin hovered over him as well as the professor. The room was significantly darker than the last time he'd woken, and it took Jaune more than a few moments to realize the glasses he had on were sunglasses.

"Are you alright? You took quite a spill there." Ozpin's voice was level, and oddly enough, the boy felt less sore hearing him speak.

"Yeah." Jaune replied, the one-word response making him wince slightly. The headmaster chuckled.

"You certainly don't seem fine."

"Everything hurts." Jaune said a moment later. As much as he wanted to push himself up, he doubted he could. He was also sure Professor Peri wouldn't even let him.

"I'd imagine it would. I saw what happened, and it's no wonder." The headmaster's glasses seemed balanced precariously on his face as he leaned over Jaune. "Do you remember what happened?"

Now that it didn't hurt to think, Jaune shifted his head as he nodded very slightly. "Yeah."

"A technique of that level would serve only to rip your body apart if you're not prepared for it. Coupled with the fact you didn't hit your intended target, you could have caused permanent damage to yourself. Do try to be more careful, Mr. Arc."

Jaune could only blink behind the sunglasses he wore, before parting his lips. "Permanent damage?"

"Headmaster, stop messing with him." Jaune's eyes turned to Professor Peri as she spoke. "You're not at any risk of doing that. You're just sore because you overloaded your semblance. Again."

"So..." Jaune started slowly, looking between the headmaster and the professor at either side of him. Who was he listening to again? "Not permanent?"

"Gods no." Professor Peri smacked her hand against Jaune's chest – thankfully clothed in a robe of sorts this time. "You'll walk this off like you did earlier."

"You're ruining my fun, Lilac."

Did Jaune just hear that right?

"Oh, come on, you showed me what he did to the floor. The kid needs a break. Besides, he–"

The blond had a hard time following the rest of the conversation – something about the professor's celery and the headmaster throwing a party. Jaune was able to focus again when Professor Peri walked away and Headmaster Ozpin looked down to him and sighed.

Jaune blinked before speaking up. "Women, am I right?"

The air seemed to freeze as Jaune thought he saw a demon twirling a knife on the far side of the room, but when he blinked, he realized it was just Professor Peri, completely knife-less with a cup of tea.

"Tell me," the headmaster ignored his earlier remark, coughing softly, "where did you learn to throw a punch like that?"

"A video game."

The plain answer got a simple stare in response.

"A... video game?" The headmaster raised an eyebrow in question.

Jaune nodded yet again. He felt like he could move a little better now at least, but his jaw still hurt. "A video should be on my scroll, or in my search history."

Peri handed the man a scroll, Jaune assuming it was his. For a moment, the boy was a little concerned they might browse the contents a little deeper than he'd like, but as the video played and the blond heard a mostly familiar soundtrack, he relaxed.

"Ah, I think I know what this is about." The semi-transparent display was reversed as Jaune watched as well, seeing what the headmaster was seeing. A few minutes passed and the blond smiled as the headmaster closed the scroll. "Congratulations. It seems you've developed quite the semblance. You'll need to investigate it further, and find its boundaries. Preferably in a way that doesn't cause you to pass out again."

"I don't mind the company though." Professor Peri tacked on, sipping at her cup.

The headmaster chuckled at the quip, before turning to leave. Jaune watched him carefully as he paused before the door.

"Come to think of it, your semblance is quite similar to another one of our students, if I remember correctly." Though Jaune could only see half of the headmaster's face as he turned his head painfully, he could recognize the large smile. "Perhaps she can help you out."

"Who?" Jaune asked, blinking.

"Velvet Scarlatina. I believe you two are acquainted. Show her what you can do, and I'm sure she'll understand well enough."

The headmaster parted before Jaune could speak up, and so he frowned. His semblance was like Velvet's? Was that true?

As he turned his eyes back upwards, Jaune took a breath and tried to relax. He could remember it now. The epiphany he had, the punch he'd thrown, how he'd used his semblance on Blake and CRDL.

He wondered how far he could take it. How it worked.

"Thank goodness he's gone." Professor Peri sighed, putting her cup down. "Now I can do another inspection."

She seemed to have an evil glint in her eyes as Jaune shook his head, eyes widening. She grabbed the front of his robe.

"Oh, don't be shy, I've seen it all before." The young professor giggled. "What was that you said earlier about women?"

* * *

Jaune winced as he took another step down the hallway. It seemed like it stretched on and on forever, the blond sighing to himself as he held his hand against the wall.

According to Professor Peri, this was just what would happen when he overworked himself like he had. The boy could only nod and accept the young woman's judgment – and pray he didn't need to visit her again so soon. Surgical gloves or no, he wasn't about to go through that again.

This time the professor had insisted on the full examination, and Jaune had been in no state to refuse. On the bright side, the results were good. No complications, despite passing out twice now, and having nearly cracked his jaw on the floor the second time.

He wiggled his jaw back and forth, feeling the stiffness and discomfort there. Swollen a bit, but nothing terrible.

As the blond continued slowly walking along, he hummed to himself in thought. Professor Peri had said his team had left for something to eat, and to meet back with them in their dorm afterwards. It wasn't that he cared whether they'd stayed behind or not – apparently, he'd been out for a while anyways.

After spending what seemed like the better part of an hour walking, Jaune finally found himself at his dorm. He longed for nothing more than to collapse on his bed.

Jaune already knew he was tired. He was drained not only physically, but mentally and spiritually as well, according to the strange Professor he felt he got to know a lot better today. A lot better than he probably wanted.

The boy clenched his cheeks reflexively.

"Best not to think about it." He muttered to himself, waving his scroll over the lock and turning the doorknob.

The blond pushed his way inside, and his eyes widened as there was a tray and a small over-the-lap table on his bed. Pyrrha was brushing her hair next to it where she sat. The girl blinked her bright green eyes at Jaune with a smile.

"Oh, you made it back safely. You could have called one of us." The redheaded girl pointed out, standing. "We brought food back from the cafeteria for you."

Indeed, the platter looked like it had quite the spread. More than Jaune would have expected. In fact, the tray was completely laden with food.

"Why so much?" Jaune asked, stepping cautiously into the room. He looked to the side, seeing Ren laying back with his eyes closed. Poor guy probably felt as tired as he did. He could hear the shower running, so there was no reason to ask where Blake was.

"Believe it or not, we sat with some of our seniors. Your sister invited us to eat, seeing as her team was busy with something."

"Velvet's team? Huh." He hadn't met any of them yet. Did she say anything about introducing them at some point? "They weren't at lunch either."

"Yeah. Anyway, we sat with Velvet and a few other girls. They seemed to know you and one was really apologetic over..." Pyrrha trailed off with a blush. "Attempting to appropriate you, was how I think she put it."

Jaune winced. "Yeah, I think I remember that one, thanks."

Pyrrha smiled awkwardly. "They all pitched in for your little get-well tray here, if you feel like eating."

"I appreciate you guys bringing it back for me." Jaune admitted, stepping towards his bed. He rested against the foot of it before sitting where Pyrrha had been.

"Oh, it was no trouble." The redhead sat directly across from the blond with a huff. Jaune looked up at her curiously, but she just looked out the window with pursed lips.

A few minutes passed in silence as Jaune sat, picking at the food. He ate no small amount, but it seemed like they went a little overboard in giving him so much.

"What did Professor Peri tell you?" Pyrrha finally asked.

"Not to overdo it like I did again." Jaune put his fork down for a moment. "We talked about my semblance some too."

"You know what it is now?"

Jaune hummed, trying to remember what Professor Peri told him. "I don't know what my limits are yet, but I know what triggers it. Something like how I'd assume you wouldn't be able to move a mountain or something with yours, if that makes sense."

Pyrrha nodded. "Yeah, something like that would be impossible."

"Since I've just awoken to it, she said to keep what I use it for to a minimum. It would suck to pass out in a serious fight."

"Understandable."

Silence returned as Jaune munched on some veggies, the pressure on his jaw bearable at least. The boy turned his eyes to the window to his right to witness the sun dipping below the horizon.

Two stiff knocks sounded around the dorm, and Jaune turned his head to the door. He glanced to the tray covering his lap, before looking up to Pyrrha. The girl seemed to realize that she'd needed to be the one to answer it, and stood. "I'll be right there." She called out, stepping over.

She pulled the door open, and Jaune leaned, smiling at Velvet even though his sister seemed to glare back. Pyrrha invited her in, but the blond's eyes glanced to the older girl's left, and he blinked a couple times as he looked her over. She tilted her beret softly, and he couldn't help but think she was staring at him from behind her sunglasses.

It took him a moment before he nodded slightly, the two girls walking in. "Hi Velv." He greeted. "Who's this?"

"I'm-"

"In a minute." Velvet crossed her arms, looking so seriously unimpressed it didn't suit her at all. He couldn't remember a time she'd interrupted anyone, either. Even the other girl seemed surprised. "The only reason I'm not smacking you around is because you look like you're in enough pain already."

"Thanks, sis. Appreciated." Jaune forced himself to sound somewhat enthusiastic about it, else Velvet really would smack him around, pain or no.

"Seriously, I didn't need the help."

Jaune sighed, tilting his head back. "We could talk about this later, you know?"

The girl at Velvet's side cleared her throat, interrupting whatever his sister had been about to bite off in response. The rabbit faunus stared her down for a moment, but ultimately relented when eyebrows were raised behind tinted lenses.

"Fine. Later." Velvet let out a breath, stepping closer to Pyrrha.

Jaune's eyes turned away from his sister, instead focusing on the girl stepping towards him. A hand was extended to Jaune, and the boy wiped his own on his pants before offering his in return.

"You're Jaune, huh? I'm Coco." The girl smiled, but Jaune wasn't sure what to make of it until she reached up to lower her sunglasses. Her caramel-colored irises burned into his own, and he took her hand. She sat on the bed next to him, grinning after their handshake. "Do you have lots of dirt on Velvet? Any photos of her that are just pure embarrassing?"

"Coco!"

"Maybe a couple." Jaune chuckled uncertainty, half-nodding. "What about you?"

Coco's grin grew as she barely punched him in the arm, laughing. "I think we'll get along just fine, then."

"Don't do this to me!" Velvet protested.

"Well, there is this one time mom bought her a pair of overalls with a fluffy bunny tail sewn on them. I swear we couldn't get them off her if we tried." Jaune smiled as Velvet turned pale. "I've still got the pictures on my scroll."

"Perfect."

* * *

 **I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Feel free to let me know what you think. (P.S. I'm a little impressed I managed to stay in Jaune's head this whole chapter. Hopefully his idiocy isn't literately contagious.)**

 **Later!**


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